Copyright (c) 2009 by Dennis L. PearsonAll Rights Reserved --- No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording or by any information storage or retrieval system, without permission from the author.

Thomas Dongan, Second Earle of Limerick, born in Castletown Kildrought, now Celbridge, County Kildare, Ireland in 1634; died at London, England in 1715. He was the youngest son of Irish Baronet, Sir John Dongan, member of the Irish Parliament, and a nephew of Richard Talbot, who became the Earle of Tycronnel and Lieutendant-Governor of Ireland. Another uncle Sir Robert Dongan married Grace, daughter of Lord Calvert, Baron of Baltimore. (1) Dongan's oldest brother Sir William became the first Earle of Limerick in December, 1685. At the death of Charles I in 1649, the family,(2) 6devoted to the Stuarts, removed to France to escape the harsh or some charge genocidal or near-genocidal measuresof Oliver Cromwell against Irish Catholics during the short-lived Commonwealth period in England.(3),(4)

Concerning this period, we are given a reminder by John Morrill, Professor of British and Irish History at the University of Cambridge, and a Past President of the Cromwell Association of what GK Chesterton'ssaid of the events in Ireland as they unfolded: "the tragedy of the English conquest of Ireland in the 17thcentury is that the Irish can never forget it and the English can never remember it."

According to Morrill: "Cromwell was in Ireland from August 15, 1649 to May 26, 1650. In that short time heaccomplished a more complete control of Ireland than had been achieved under any English monarch;and it led on to the most ruthless process or reports of ethnic cleansing that there has ever been inwestern European history, with the arguable exception of the Norman Conquest. In the next five yearsperhaps three-quarters of the land held by predominantly Catholic Irish people was confiscated andredistributed to Protestant Englishmen. At a stroke, the proportion of the land of Ireland held by theformer fell from three-fifths to one-sixth.

For the 350th anniversary of Cromwell’s return from Ireland In May 2000, John Morrill asked in an articleentitled "Was Cromwell a War Criminal? Should we extradite him across time to face the tribunal ofhistory on charges of atrocity and ethnic cleansing in Ireland?

In Morrill's words:

"Cromwell spent his time securing control of the east of Ireland, from Drogheda, 30 miles north of Dublin,to Cork in the south. When he left, only four major Irish towns remained to be taken: Waterford, Limerick,Athlone and Galway.

At the heart of Cromwell's conquest was his storming of Drogheda and Wexford. They represent a grimlegend. In Drogheda more than 3,000 were killed; in Wexford not less than 2,000. They died from artillerybombardment, from gunshots, from sword or dagger thrust, or by bludgeon - Sir Arthur Aston,commander of the Drogheda garrison, was beaten to death with his own wooden leg. Many, perhapsmost, were killed in hot blood. But others were killed in cold blood after they had surrendered or beencaptured. Cromwell ordered none in military or religious orders to be spared.

Another argument against Cromwell is that he behaved in Ireland radically differently from how hebehaved in Britain. In the English and Scottish wars there is nothing remotely on the scale of themassacres at Drogheda and Wexford. The death rate in military engagements in England was usuallybetween five and 10 per cent. At Drogheda and Wexford, it must have been 80 per cent. By Cromwell'sown admission, these included non-combatants killed in the knowledge that they were non-combatants.There is detailed testimony from Royalist sources that several Protestant officers surrendered onquarter and were subsequently killed. And there is some credible Catholic testimony from Wexford ofatrocities against civilians after the town had been secured. The Catholic Bishop Nicholas French, whowas near the town, gave a vivid account of scourging, tortures and hangings of unarmed priests, friarsand civilians. But above all, Cromwell's own language, reveling in the death of his enemies,demonstrates easiness with the violence he unleashed. The Act of Settlement was a logicalconsequence of the conquest he led. Fairfax had refused to lead the Irish expedition. Cromwellundertook the mission, knowing full well what the outcome would be."

But in the end Morrill makes this verdict: Cromwell was a soldier of his time with these words:

"Cromwell failed to rise above the bigotry of his age in respect of the Irish people. He did rise above it inother respects (especially in his commitment to religious liberty in Britain). As a general he behaveddifferently in Ireland from how he behaved in England and Scotland. There were massacres at Droghedaand Wexford in hot and cold blood. Cromwell's contempt for the Catholic clergy meant that he permittedthem to be slaughtered. But whether he broke the laws of war then prevailing, and whether he wasanything like as brutal as many others in the Irish wars, whether indeed he should be blamed for thingsmuch worse than what happened in Drogheda and Wexford, is still difficult to establish. (5)

But to this author it is obvious that while the Dongan family did not have a face to face meeting withCromwell , they had to be aware of his activities and got out of Ireland ahead of or during the mop upactivities that descended upon Waterford, Limerick, Athlone and Galway. Ironically, the only places inIreland that this author has actually visited.

With the restoration of the British Monarchy under Charles II, Thomas Dongan's brother and uncle onceagain served the British crown and were able to win favor from the King for Thomas in his militarycareer. Thomas Dongan quickly became a Colonel in the Royal Army in 1674 and was assigned beforethen by the British Crown to serve with his Irish regiment under the French King Louis IV near Nancyduring the French-Dutch War and also participated in all of Turenne's campaigns under the name ofD'Unguent. (6)

Turenne also known as Henri de La Tour viscount of d'Auvergne was born September. 11, 1611 in Sedan,France and died July 27, 1675 in Sasbach, Baden-Baden. A French military leader and marshal of Francefrom 1643, he was one of the greatest military commanders during the reign of Louis XIV. Beginning hismilitary career in the Thirty Years' War (from 1625), he subsequently commanded the royal armies in thecivil war of the Fronde (1648-53), in the French invasion of the Spanish Netherlands (1667), and in thethird Dutch War (begun in 1672). Napoleon later deemed him history's greatest military leader.As it happened, the development of the Ministry of War by the Marquis de Louvois enabled Louis XIV tocommand in person, and in the War of Devolution (1667-68) and in the invasion of Holland (1672) Turennemarched at his side. Then, when the German allies of the Dutch menaced the lower Rhineland, Turennewas once more sent east of the Rhine, but with only 16,000 men, a secondary command.Yet these campaigns of 1672-75 brought him enduring fame. Turenne had long been a master of"strategic chess moves," but he was bolder now; he offered battle more often and looked foropportunities when his more powerful adversaries were weakened by detachments. By January 1673 hehad broken the German coalition for a time and by invading the county of Mark had forced the electorFrederick William of Brandenburg to negotiate; he had also prevented the enemy from crossing theRhine. Later in the year his wider maneuvering against the emperor Leopold I's army had such successthat he could have reached Bohemia; but Louvois refused him reinforcement for a decisive operation,and when Turenne was called back to cover Alsace, the emperor's forces struck at Bonn and so brokethe French control of the lower Rhine.

Greatly superior German forces moved toward the Rhine in 1674. Turenne defeated a detached corps atSinzheim, near Heidelberg, on June 16 and ravaged the Palatinate. But by September he was again westof the Rhine, with little hope of barring the advance of the main enemy forces. At Enzheim, nearStrassburg, he attacked them on October 4, but he drew back before a decisive point was reached; andas the Brandenburgers also joined the emperor's forces, their 57,000 men seemed in secure possessionof Alsace. Turenne replied in December with the most famous of his marches. He turned south on theFrench side of the Vosges, reappeared at Belfort, and, at Turckheim on Jan. 5, 1675, delivered so heavya blow on the flank of the main army that the Germans decided to re-cross the Rhine. Alsace was saved.

In June 1675 Turenne was on the east bank of the Rhine maneuvering against the Italian field marshal inimperial service, Raimondo Montecuccoli, for the control of the crossing near Strassburg. The armieswere in contact at Sasbach, and Turenne was examining a position when he was killed by a cannon shoton July 27, 1675. He was buried with the kings of France at Saint-Denis. Later the emperor Napoleon hadhis remains transferred to the Invalides in Paris. (7)

Incredibly in the period during and after the 30 Years War and Louis XIV’s incursions – that part of theHoly Roman Empire which later became Southwest Germany lost approximately 90 percent of itspopulation by death or emigration ... It took the economy of the area 120 years to recover.

And of those who emigrated from their homelands because of war and religious disputes, many came toWilliam Penn's North American British Colony of Pennsylvania.

The early German speaking immigrants to the U.S were much concerned about religious freedom for Intheir homelands they were told by their ruling prince what religion they were to practice. Consequently,many families have their origins in America due to the persecution of France's Louis XIV and his militarycommanders who invaded the Duchy of Lorraine and provinces of the Holy Roman Empire (nowSouthwest Germany).. These people had to convert to Catholicism or die or the very least have theirproperty taken away and be enslaved. Emigration of Protestants was forbidden. However manyProtestants did convert to Catholicism with the aim to emigrate if they could and then return to theirreformed Christian or Lutheran faith.

The Dongan family which had experienced the pressures of Civil War and religious persecution inIreland because of Cromwell's incursion now had a family member, Thomas, who was part of a politicaland military force doing the same to the lands along the Rhine River and what became SouthwestGermany,

In these battles a Quadruple Alliance of Germanic States (Holy Roman Empire, Brandenburg, Münster ) ,Spain, Denmark, and Holland formed an alliance against France to resist the encroachments of Louis XIV.,who had declared war against Holland. It terminated with the treaty of Nijmegen in 1678

The Treaties of Peace of Nijmegen (Négotiations de Nimegue or Négotiations de la Paix de Nimègue)were a series of treaties, signed in the Dutch city of Nijmegen, August 1678 - December 1679, ending warbetween various countries, including France, the Dutch Republic, Spain, Brandenburg, Sweden,Denmark, the Prince-Bishopric of Münster, and the Holy Roman Empire, during the Franco-Dutch War(1672-1678).

The Franco-Dutch War led to several separate wars, which usually go by separate names, like the ThirdAnglo-Dutch War or Scanian War, but which were directly caused by, and really form part of, the Franco-Dutch War. England initially participated in the war on the French side, but withdrew in 1674 in the Treatyof Westminster.

Peace negotiations began in 1676, but nothing was agreed to and signed before 1678. These treaties didnot result in a lasting peace. Some of the countries involved signed peace deals elsewhere, such as theTreaty of Celle (Sweden made peace with Brunswick and Lunenburg-Celle), Treaty of Saint-Germain(France and Sweden made peace with Brandenburg) and Treaty of Fontainebleau ((French dictatedpeace between Sweden and Denmark-Norway).

Under the treaty that ended the Franco-Dutch War, France gained control of the Franche-Comté andsome cities in Flanders and Hainaut (from Spain).(8)

After the Treaty of Nijmegen (1678) , Thomas Dongan returned to England in obedience to the order ofthe English Government recalling all British subjects in French service. Through the Duke of York, afellow-officer under Turenne, he was appointed to high rank in the army designated for service inFlanders, and was granted an annual pension of £500. But in The same year (1678) he was appointedLieutenant-Governor of Tangiers by Charles II under William O'Brien, 2nd Earl of Inchiquin the son ofMurrough O'Brien, 1st Earl of Inchiquin. (9)

Tangier or Tangiers (Ṭanja طنجة in Berber and Arabic, Tánger in Spanish, Tânger in Portuguese, andTanger in French) currently is a city of northern Morocco with a population of about 700,000 (2008census). It lies on the North African coast at the western entrance to the Strait of Gibraltar where theMediterranean meets the Atlantic Ocean off Cape Spartel. It is the capital of the Tangier-Tétouan Region.Tangier was ruled by Umayyads, Abbasids, Idrisids, Fatimids, Caliphate of Cordoba, Maghrawa Emirate,Almoravids, Almohads, Marinids and Kingdom of Fez before Portuguese conquest. When the Portuguesestarted their expansion in Morocco, by taking Ceuta in 1415, Tangiers was always a primary goal. Theyfailed to capture the city in 1437 but finally occupied it in 1471. The Portuguese rule (including Spanishrule between 1580-1640) lasted until 1661, when it was given to Charles II of England as part of the dowryfrom the Portuguese Infanta Catherine of Braganza. The English gave the city a garrison and a charterwhich made it equal to English towns. The English planned to improve the harbor by building a mole. (10) With an improved harbor the town would have played the same role that Gibraltar later played in Britishnaval strategy. The mole cost £340,000 and reached 1436 feet long, before being blown up during theevacuation.(11)

In Tangiers, Dongan obviously became familiar with the Tangiers Regiment ...Also known as the Queen'sRoyal Regiment.

The Queen’s Royal Regiment was originally raised as the Tangiers Regiment to garrison Tangiers, part ofthe dowry of Princess Catherine of Braganza of Portugal, who was to marry King Charles II of England in1662. This Regiment became the senior English Infantry Regiment of the Line, taking precedence afterthe Royal Scots, 1st Foot.

The Regiment first paraded under its Colonel, the Earl of Peterborough, on Putney Heath on 14thOctober 1661, and it sailed for Tangier in January 1662. For 22 years the Regiment remained in Tangierguarding the town and the harbor against the continual attacks of the Moors, until in 1684 financialpressures at home led King Charles to abandon the town. On its arrival in England under the commandof Colonel Piercy Kirke the Regiment was granted the title the Queen’s Regiment, the Queen being stillKing Charles’s Queen, Catherine of Braganza. The Battle Honor “Tangier 1662-1680”, the oldest in theArmy, and shared with only one other Regiment, now The Royal House Guards Regiment the Blues andRoyals, was not awarded until 1909. (12)

Dongan's excellent handling of affairs in Tangiers won him a commission in 1682 from James, theCatholic Duke of York, and Lord Proprietor of the Provence of New York as Governor. James wasdetermined to provide his proprietary colony with an able colonial Governor whose main task was to setup a General Assembly in order to quiet down the discontent of the rebellious Colonists in the bankruptor economically challenged Provence. But interestingly, when the Duke became King James II of theBritish Isles, he discontinued the Provincial Assembly.

Background

The founding of Pennsylvania by William Penn helped to accelerate the political revolution which hadbeen preparing in New York ever since the first arrival of Governor Edmund Andros. During the springof 1680 many complaints against this energetic governor found their way across the ocean. Not only wasfault found with his treatment of New Jersey, but it was said that he showed too much favor to Dutchshipping, and especially that he allowed Boston people to trade in furs with the Mohawks. These rumorsled James, duke of York, to summon Andros to London in order to justify himself. The governor sailed inJanuary, 1681, with the expectation that he would return to New York in quick order so he left LadyAndros in New York. He had little difficulty in satisfying the duke as to his official conduct, but during hisabsence serious troubles broke out in New York, which had been left in charge of Brockholls, thelieutenant-governor.

The fact is, The duke’s customs’ duties, which had been imposed in 1677 for three years, expired inNovember, 1680, and by some oversight Sir Edmund neglected to renew them by special ordinance. Afterhe had gone, divers merchants refused to pay duties, and Brockholls did not feel sure that he hadsufficient authority to renew them, a squeamishness for which the duke was far from thanking him. Assoon as the merchants came to realize the weakness of the situation in which Brockholls was placed, thediscontent which had smoldered during long years of autocratic rule burst forth in an explosion that hadmomentous consequences.

William Dyer, the duke’s collector of customs at the fort of New York, detained sundry goods for non-payment of duties. He was promptly indicted for high treason in taking upon himself “regal power andauthority over the king’s subjects” by demanding the payment of taxes that were not legally due. Broughtto trial before a special court, he began by pleading “not guilty,” but after a while called in question thecompetency of the court. The case was a somewhat novel exhibition of legal ingenuity, which puzzled thejudges, and it was decided to send Dyer over to England for trial. He was examined in London by the king’s legal advisers, who found that he had “done nothing amiss,” and presently he returned to New York tobe “surveyor-general of his Majesty’s customs in the American Plantations.”

The excitement over Dyer’s case found vent in a clamorous demand for a legislative assembly. Peoplewagged their heads as they asked whether the arbitrary rule of a lord-proprietor was any better than thearbitrary rule of a mercantile company. The old English and Dutch principle of “taxation only by consent”was loudly reiterated. At this juncture the duke’s release of the Jerseys and the founding ofPennsylvania seemed to bring things to a crisis. Here, said the men of New York, in these new colonies,almost at their very door, no laws could be made and no taxes levied except by a colonial assembly offreemen. Why could not James Stuart conduct the business of government upon as liberal principles ashis friends, Philip Carteret and William Penn? A petition was accordingly soon sent to the duke, in whichthe want of a representative assembly was declared an intolerable grievance. The document reachedhim at a favorable moment. He had been complaining that it was hard to raise a sufficient revenue in hisprovince of New York, that his officers there were in difficulties and the air was full of complaints, so thathe had half a mind to sell the country to anybody who would offer a fair price for it. “What,” cried WilliamPenn, “sell New York! Don’t think of such a thing. Just give it self-government and there will be no moretrouble.” James concluded to take the advice. Andros was made a gentleman of the king’s chamber andpresented with a long lease of the island of Alderney. In his place James sent a new governor to NewYork, with instructions to issue the writs for an election of representatives. With all his faults and in spiteof his moroseness, this Stuart prince had many excellent men attached to him; and the new governor forNew York was one of the best of them, Colonel Thomas Dongan, an Irishman of broad statesmanlike mindand all the personal magnetism that the Blarney stone is said to impart. His blithe humor veiled a deepearnestness of purpose, long experience with Frenchmen had fitted him to deal with the dangers thatwere threatening from Canada, and while he was a most devout Catholic none could surpass him inloyalty to Great Britain and its government. (13)

More Background

For more than three centuries England and Holland had been the closest of friends; but now, at theclose of the long and bloody Thirty Years' War, which ended with the Treaty of Westphalia in 1648, thepower of Spain was crushed, and the Dutch, no longer having anything to fear from his Catholic Majesty,rose to dispute with the English the dominion of the seas. This brought about an unfriendly rivalrybetween the two nations, and the unfriendliness was increased by the fact that the Dutch of newNetherland traded freely with the English colonies. They carried great quantities of Virginia tobacco toHolland, and thus at least £10,000 a year was lost in customs duties to the British government

The first Navigation Law, 1651, was aimed largely at the Dutch trader, but the wily Dutchman ignored thelaw and continued as before. This was one cause that determined the English on the conquest of NewAmsterdam. Another, and probably the chief one, was that the Dutch colony on the Hudson separatedNew England from the other English colonies and threatened British dominion in North America.

The English claimed New Netherland on the ground of the Cabot discoveries; and Charles II in1664,coolly gave the entire country, from the Connecticut to the Delaware, to his brother James, Duke of York,ignoring the claims of the Dutch colony, and even disregarded his own charter of two years with theyounger Winthrop. As it happened, Richard Nicolls of the royal navy set out from England with a smallfleet comprising five hundred of the king's veterans. Reaching New England, he was joined by severalhundred of the militia of Connecticut and Long Island, and he sailed for the mouth of the Hudson.

Peter Stuyvesant had heard of the English fleet's arrival at Boston, but he held the false belief that itsobject was to enforce the Episcopal service upon the Puritans of New England; therefore, he neversuspected any danger or threat to his government in New Amsterdam, and allowed himself to go far upthe Hudson river, to Fort Orange, to quell an Indian disturbance. From that location, the Dutch Governorreceived intelligence that Nicolls fleet was moving toward New Amsterdam. Immediately, Stuyvesanthastened down the river with all speed, arriving at New Amsterdam but one day before the English fleetcame into view. Nicolls demanded the surrender of the fort. Stuyvesant refused; he fumed and frettedand swore and stamped his wooden leg. He tore to bits a conciliatory letter sent him by Nicolls. Hemustered his forces for defense. But the people were not with him; they were weary of his tyrannicalgovernment in which they had no part, weary of enriching a company at their own expense, and thecholeric old governor had to yield. The fort was surrendered (1664) without bloodshed; New Amsterdambecame New York, after the Duke of York; the upper Hudson also yielded, and Fort Orange becameAlbany, after another of the duke's titles, and all New Netherland, including the Delaware Valley, passedunder English control.

Historians have argued by what right the English monarch Charles II seized New Netherland for theEnglish. It is known that Queen Elizabeth had laid down the postulate that mere discovery, withoutoccupation, did not constitute a right to new lands. This was a good rule when applied to Spain to refuteher claims to North America; However, it was another story when applied to the English concerning theHudson Valley. But the English deftly evaded the difficulty, to their own satisfaction, by claiming that theHudson Valley was part of Virginia as given by James I, in 1606, to two companies. This tract had beensettled at both ends, -- on the James River and the New England coast, -- and why should a foreignpower claim the central portion because not yet occupied? This was the English argument, and theirargument won because it was sustained by military force rather than diplomatic agreement. And yet, asargued by Henry William Elson in The History of the United States of America some providential hand mayeasily be seen in this experience. States Elson: "The conquest of New Netherland was scarcely lessimportant than was the conquest of New France, a century later, on the Plains of Abraham. It all belongedto the preparation -- not for British dominion in North America, but for the dominion of future generationsthat were to occupy the land. Before their power England was yet to go down, as New Netherland andNew France first went down before hers. Thus England, all unwittingly, became the instrument inpreparing the way and fighting the battles for a nation that was yet to be born. " (14)

A short war between England and Holland followed the conquest of Nicolls, and the Dutch sailed up theThames River and visited fearful punishment on the English, though they did not win back New York. Butnine years after the Nicolls victory, the two nations were again at war, and a Dutch fleet re-conqueredNew York and took possession of the Hudson Valley; but by the treaty of peace the next year the countrywas ceded back to the English, and Dutch rule ceased forever in North America.

At the time of the Nichols conquest the little city at the southern point of Manhattan contained somefifteen hundred people, and the whole province about ten thousand, one third of whom were English.The colony now became a proprietary colony, but as the proprietor afterward became king of England, itwas transferred to the list of royal colonies. Nicolls became the first governor. He was able andconscientious. The rights of property, of citizenship, and of religious liberty had been guaranteed in theterms of capitulation. To these were added at a later date equal taxation and trial by jury. In one year thetact and energy of Nicolls had transformed the province practically into an English colony. After fouryears of successful rule Nicolls returned to England -- and a few years later, as he stood by the side ofhis mater, the Duke of York, at the battle of Solebay, his body was torn to pieces by a cannon ball.

Elson claims, the English inhabitants of New York had gladly welcomed the change of government, andeven the Dutch had made little resistance, as they were tired of the tyrannical rule of the Dutch company.If there was any bitterness against English rule remaining, it was wholly removed in 1677 by an event ofgreat importance to both hemispheres -- the marriage of the leading Hollander of his times, the Prince ofOrange, to the daughter of the Duke of York, the two afterward to become joint sovereigns of England asWilliam and Mary. (15)

Elson takes pains to comment on the interesting transition of this colony from Dutch to English rule.. Herepudiates claims by a few writers unmentioned here that New York's institutions were derived fromDutch more than from English sources; but to Elson, a little study into this subject should easily provethe contrary. As stated by Elson, the people over whom Nicolls became governor in 1664 were composedof three separate communities, each different from the others in its government; the Dutch settlers onthe Hudson, the settlements on the Delaware, and the English towns that had grown up under Dutch ruleon Long Island. Now these English towns during the period of the Dutch supremacy enjoyed far moreliberal local government than did the Dutch towns on the Hudson. And in this one respect Kieft, whoencouraged popular government among the English towns, was wiser than Stuyvesant, who opposed it.(16) These English towns held their popular meetings, chose their officials, and transacted otherbusiness after the manner of the New England towns; while in the Dutch towns there were no townmeetings, no popular elections, the ruling officials forming a kind of close corporation with power to fillall vacancies and choose their own successors. States Elson; "As to which of these types came nearerbeing the model for our local government of to-day, no reader need be informed." (17)

When Nicolls became governor he made little immediate change in the general or local governmentexcept to adopt English titles for the public officers. To understand this two things must be remembered.First, the charter for New York, true to the Stuart instinct, made the Duke of York absolute master, and itmade no provision for the people to take any part in their own government; second, it was practicallysuch a government that Nicolls already found in New Amsterdam. States Elson: "With a ready-mademachine at hand, why should he take the trouble to make a new one? " As it happened, Nicollsproceeded to frame a code of laws known as "The Duke's Laws." These were intended at first for theEnglish settlers only, but where later extended to all. This code was borrowed largely from the laws ofNew England, with the two important omissions that there was no provision for the people to take anypart in the government, and that there was no religious test for citizenship. It retained many Dutchfeatures, and introduced a few new features. To the Court of Assizes, consisting of governor andcouncil, sheriff and justice, was assigned the legislative and judicial power; but as the sheriff andjustices were appointees of the governor, there was no popular government in the plan. (18)

But as Elson explains, this plan did not prove permanent. The English portion of the colony clamored forrepresentative government. The agitation continued until 1681, with Edmund Andros replacing Nicolls asgovernor, when the English population was ready to break into open rebellion, unless their demand foran assembly be granted. Accordingly the next year the duke promised the people an assembly, and thefirst one was elected in 1683, while Thomas Dongan was governor. The arrival of Governor Dongan inNew York, with the news of his errand, was hailed with vociferous delight. His assembly composed ofeighteen men elected by the people, now proceeded to adopt a declaration of rights known as the"Charter of Liberties," by which it declared the representatives of the people coordinate with thegovernor and council, and that no taxes could be laid without their consent. It also provided that all lawsbe subject to the duke's approval. (19) Its composition forcibly reminds us of what places the Duke ofYork’s province consisted. The places represented were Schenectady, Albany, Rensselaerwyck, Esopus,Harlem, New York, Staten Island, Long Island (under the name of Yorkshire in three districts called“ridings”), Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket, and distant Pemaquid. As was stated, There were in alleighteen representatives. (20) This assembly divided New York and its appendages into twelve counties,the names of some of which are curious: New York, Westchester, Dutchess (after the duke’s new wife,Mary of Modena), Albany (Ulster, after the duke’s Irish earldom), Orange (after William, the duke’s Dutchson-in-law, destined to supplant him), Richmond (probably after Louise de Keroualle’s bastard), Kings,Queens, Suffolk (a good name for such a Puritan county), Dukes (including Martha’s Vineyard andneighboring islands), and Cornwall (comprising the Maine districts. (21)

At this point Elson speculates a bit into what might have been the fate of this charter if normalconditions in the Colony had not suddenly changed. The duke's royal brother had suddenly died, and theduke became king of England as James II. New York now became a royal colony, and the new king, who atheart despised popular government, refused to sign the Charter of Liberties, abolished the New Yorkassembly, and sent Andros to govern the colony as consolidated with New England and New Jersey.Andros, with a council of seven men, was to govern nine colonies as a conquered province. The fall of James II from the British throne occasioned the immediate fall of Andros; but this did not bring immediatepeace to New York. According to Elson, the colony would pass through another exciting experiencebeyond our discussion of Thomas Dongan. (22)

In this office Dongan proved himself an able lawgiver, and left an indelible mark on political andconstitutional history. He convened the first representative assembly of New York Province on October14,1683, at Fort James within the present boundaries of the city of New York. This assembly, under thewise supervision of Dongan, passed an act entitled "A Charter of Liberties"; decreed that the supremelegislative power under the Duke of York shall reside in a governor, council, and the people convenedin general assembly; conferred upon the members of the assembly rights and privileges making them abody coequal to and independent of the British Parliament; established town, county, and general courtsof justice; solemnly proclaimed the right of religious liberty; and passed acts enunciating certainconstitutional liberties, e.g. no taxation without representation; taxes could be levied only by the peoplemet in general assembly; right of suffrage; no martial law or quartering of the soldiers without theconsent of the inhabitants; election by majority of votes; and the English law of real property. (23)

To repeat, the Charter of Liberties was drafted in 1683 by the first representative assembly in New Yorkas an instrument of provincial government. The hallmark of Governor Thomas Dongan's administration,the charter de-fined the colony's form of government, affirmed basic political rights, and guaranteedreligious liberty for Christians. It divided the colony into twelve counties, or "shires," that were to serveas the basic units of local government. Freeholders from each shire would elect representatives toserve in the assembly

Though the powerful Anglo-Dutch oligarchy approved of both Dongan and the work of the assembly, notall colonists approved of the charter. Under the charter, the governor retained appointive powers;Dongan lost no time wielding them on behalf of an influential few. Only eight of the first eighteenassemblymen were Dutch, and of those Dutch appointed by Dongan, most were from among the mostanglicized, who had long held sway in the colony. Moreover, the charter contained provisions that wereoffensive to Dutch cultural traditions, including laws governing widows' property rights andprimogeniture.

The Charter of Liberties was disallowed in 1685, when, on the death of Charles II, New York became aroyal colony under King James, who created the Dominion of New England, incorporating all of NewEngland and New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania.(24)

Thus to Dongan's term as governor can be dated the Magna Charta of American constitutional liberties,for his system of government became the program of continuous political agitation by the colonists ofNew York Province during the eighteenth century. It developed naturally into the present stategovernment, and many of its principles passed into the framework of the Federal Government.Moreover, a rare tribute to his genius, the government imposed by him on New York Province, 1683, wasadopted by England after the American War of Independence as the framework of her colonial policy, andconstitutes the present form of government in Canada, Australia, and the Transvaal. Dongan signed theCharter of Liberties October 30, 1683, and on the following day solemnly proclaimed it at the City Hall ofNew York City. The Duke of York signed and sealed the Charter October 4., 1684; but never returned it,probably for reasons of prudence, for at the time Charles II had, by a quo warranto proceeding, abolishedthe Charters of New England, and the Charter of Pennsylvania granted in 1684 distinctly admits the rightof Parliament to tax the colonies. (25)

Equally important was Dongan's commission to keep track of the movements of the French in Canada andthe Indians of New York, It was hoped that Dongan, with the general knowledge of the French characterthrough his French service, might maintain the peace in the region. (26) But Dongan's policy to shut outFrench trade with the Iroquois nation and his weak stand on the Indians wars which involved the Frenchmade friendly relations between Canada and New York very difficult if not impossible.

The great problem, the great dilemma, the great slippery slope that Dongan had to balance was how doesone prevent full scale war with the French when it was necessary to resist French encroachment of andcheck their design of seizing the interior of the North American continent with the end result ofconfining the British to a diminutive strip of land on the Atlantic Seaboard.(27) Indeed, great pressure,strained relations, arose during this period when French and English agents consorted the Indian tribesfor their loyalties. To picture what was happening, think of these agents as NCAA head and assistantfootball coaches seeking out highly talented raw high school recruits for their high profile football programs. Of course, what the college agents wanted was letters of commitments from these highlytalented raw recruits to attend their schools and be part of their program. What the competing agents inthe North American field of contention wanted was a letter of commitment formally called a Treaty fromthe various Indian tribes formally establishing a common bond of friendship and trade. To his credit,Dongan by treaty with the Indians made at Albany, New York, 1684, in presence of Lord Howard, Governorof Virginia, Dongan obtained the written submission of the Iroquois to the sovereignty and protection of"the great Sachem Charles that lives over the Great Lake" on two white deer-skins, and outlined themasterly Indian policy which kept the Five Nations friends of England and a barrier between the Englishand French possessions in North America, a policy afterwards maintained with success by Sir WilliamJohnson. By this Treaty the Iroquois placed also submitted to the government of New York.(28)

However, there was a cost for the government of New York to maintain its good relations with its clientIndian tribes. Governor Dongan who inherited a Provincial government which could be said to bebankrupt at worst case or economically challenged at best case, needed to continue to strain theresources of New York in order to maintain the allegiance of his Indian subjects. That's because Frenchinterference with these tribes did not completely go away. (29)

Dongan's correspondence with his Canadian counterparts (De la Barre and Denonville) protestingagainst continuing French provoked hostilities in Iroquois lands demonstrate what manner of man hewas. He was ever watchful, vigilant and thoroughly committed to the contracted and territorial interestsof his British Colony; what-is-more, he was very much jealous of any interference with his native allies bythe French. As a former soldier, the Governor knew the value of strategic as well as commercial centers.Therefore, he established forts at Albany, New York, Pemaquid and made Albany a fur center. (30)

Policy wise, the Duke of York wanted to avoid anything that might involve New York in serious disputeswith the French. (31) However, Dongan was more of a realist. The Governor knew that in order tomaintain the security of the colony, military preparations must be made because the French menace wasnot imagined , it did exist. The French, according to accounts by Dongan, violated both Britishsovereignty and territory in their contacts and dealing with the Indians under New York protection; And itwas the Governor's contention that the Duke's sovereignty over the Indians comprised all the territorysouth of the St. Lawrence Rover and Lake Ontario. (32)

One thing of note we can say about Thomas Dongan is that in the end he was successful in establishingthe boundary lines of the province by settling disputes with Connecticut on the East, with the FrenchGovernor of Canada on the North, with Pennsylvania on the South, thus marking out the present limits ofNew York State. As we said before, by treaty with the Indians made at Albany, New York, 1684, inpresence of Lord Howard, Governor of Virginia, Dongan obtained the written submission of the Iroquoisto the Great Sachem Charles, on two white deer-skins, and outlined the masterly Indian policy which keptthe Five Nations friends of England and a barrier between the English and French possessions in NorthAmerica, a policy afterwards maintained with success by Sir William Johnson. At the death of Charles II,1685, James Duke of York was proclaimed king, and New York became a royal province.(33)

Dongan knew as well as the French that control of the western economy depended upon thecooperation of the fierce Iroquois nation. The Iroquois served as the guardians of the fur trade. ToDongan, the fur trade was more than just a profitable business. It was the means of winning the English anew Empire. The nation that had the Iroquois support would hold an important advantage over its rival.(34)

The French attempted to gain trade advantages through the influence of the Jesuit fathers who workedamong the Indians. Dongan, eventually came to the realization that the Jesuits became a tool for Frenchexpansion; therefore, he desired to replace them with English missionaries. (35)

The English attempted to exercise economic control over the Indians by establishing a protectorate overthem through periodic conferences of friendship. Dongan, upon arrival at New York, saw the need for anIndian Conference; therefore, he called for a conference to be convened at Fort James in New York Cityon October 9, 1683. (36)

Indian conferences were generally conducted in the Indian tongue and the interpreters who could notspeak English wrote their minutes in Dutch. The transactions were then recorded in Dutch by theSecretary --- after 1675, Robert Livingston or a deputy -- and were translated into English only if deemedimportant enough to forward to the governor. Most conferences were irregular meetings between themagistrates of Albany and one or more Indians who came to that community during the course of theyear. More important were the full dress councils at Albany attended by the Governor and hisadministration on one hand and a full representative of Iroquois Sachems with their spokesman andwarriors on the other hand. However, for some unexplained reason, Dongan for the first meeting withthe Indians held the conference at Fort James in New York City rather than Albany. Theseoccasions were not unknown in Peter Stuyvesant's time but they occurred more and more frequentlyafter 1664. The presentation of the Governor's speech gradually became an important procedure asIroquois relations gained in stature and conferences became week long affairs.(37)

Another feature of Indian Conferences, informal and formal, was the exchange of gifts. This was atradition among the Indians and anteceded the White man's coming. No meeting could be held and noagreement could be made without sealing the transactions with tokens of sincerity. The Indian offeringtook the form of peltry and were seldom very considerable except at full conferences. In return, theIndians expected to receive more expensive gifts.. These were composed of all the customary tradingbut it also included woolen cloth, rum, power and lead. The Sachems received laced coats, hats, shirtsand other items they considered as being marks of social and political status. Not unexpectingly, gunswere also given to the Indians. In early years, the English gave the guns away with care but later theywere given in large quantities for the harassment of western tribes and the French. The Governorbrought his gifts with him to the larger conferences. They were paid by the colony and eventually moneywas supplied by the royal coffers. Before 1689, they never exceeded $150.00 in value but they grewsteadily in amount. (38)

At this conference, the Governor told the Indians that the King and his Royal Highness had a greatkindness for them and that he himself would be glad to have good correspondence and friendship withthem as other governors before had. He asked the Indians "to treat no more with the French, nor 'goe'(sic) there if sent for without the leave of the government, and to permit no Frenchman to live amongstthem accept the Jesuits and each of them a man and such as shall have a 'passe ' (sic) from theGovernor of New York." The Governor requested that the Indians make peace with their Brethren whowent to Canada and encourage them to come home so that all the trade of the area could come to hisgovernment. If the Indians would abide by these regulations, the Governor would look upon them aschildren offering them the full protection of the government. (39)

In asking the Indians to make peace with their Brethren, Governor Dongan was referring to one of hisgovernment's most pressing problem --- the Caughnwagy Indians. The Caughnwagy were a band ofpraying Indians of Oneidas and Mohawks that were converted to Catholicism and moved to Canada in1668. These Indians not only worked to convert the other Indians but made any attack upon Canadaextremely dangerous due to the Mohawk and Oneidas unwillingness to fight their Brethren. Dongan triedto weaken this obvious French advantage by bringing the Caughnwagy back to New York by offeringthem English priests and lands. The priests, he hoped, would be supplied by his King, a Catholic. RobertLivingston was to assist the Mohawks and Oneidas in bringing the Caughnwagy back.(40)

The Indians looked kindly upon the Governor's proposal to treat them as his children; and , respectfullybriefed the Governor to the fact that the Governor of Canada had made similar offers to them. Then uponconsideration, they said in the following statement that they will heed the advice of the Governor of NewYork:"His Honor having told them they should harbour (sic) no French, but the Jesuits and each of them aman, they answer they will never suffer any straggler Frenchman amongst them, but those Jesuits whoare very good men and very quiet and yet if his Honor shall please, they will send them away also," (41)

As it happened, Governor Dongan after obtaining the above pledge from the Indians, was emboldened toissue an order to the Mohawks to hoist "a ragged Ship's flag" bearing the English arms on their lands,territory and country.(42) Then on November 26, 1683 , Dongan, by proclamation, forbade all personsfrom trading with the Indians who have not received a license from the Secretary's Office of New York.(43)

As French and Iroquois affairs assumed greater importance, New York's relationship with the FiveNations also led to strained relations with other British Colonies in North America. (44)

As it happened, the Mohawks at the before mentioned Fort James meeting, also agreed to cede theSusquehanna River to the government of New York. Which on the surface was a wonderful diplomaticand territorial gain for New York and its Governor. But Unfortunately, this grant of land by the Mohawksto Dongan conflicted with a Pennsylvania claim, and had the effect of producing a bitter quarrel withWilliam Penn, the Proprietor of the Colony of Pennsylvania. Dongan, in announcing this grant, expressedthe hope that he and Penn would not split or be divided on the issue. He desired that Penn and himselfwould join together to advance the interests of his master and Penn's Friend, the Duke of York.However, as it sometimes happens, the interests of the two colonies were not mutual. Dongan waspreoccupied with the desire to stop French intrigue in the Duke's land and create a monopoly of trade inthe area. Dongan, therefore, did not accommodate to or be willing to Penn's request to also engage inSusquehanna trade with the Indians. This was so because Dongan did not wish to give up any acreage ofthe land or trade rights which he recently received or acquired from the Mohawks. And also, Dongan, theGovernor of New York, did not desire to see his southern neighbor gain in importance among alreadyexisting British Colonies in North America by the addition of new territory. Thus it followed naturally, thatwhen William Penn asked the Governor of New York to mediate the boundary dispute between the twoColonies, Dongan coldly sent Penn's agents away with the remark: " Mr. Penn has already more land thanhe could populate these many year." And of course, Dongan's responses and corresponding actions toPenn's requests did not win the friendship of William Penn , rather, it produced the opposite. WilliamPenn from therein was a bitter enemy of Thomas Dongan. (45)

During the time period when the New York Governor was attempting to establish protectorate over theIndians in New York, the Governor of Canada voiced a complaint that the English Colony was siding andabetting the Indian attack on the French. In a document dated May 30, 1683, the Canadian Governorcharged that the Senecas were preparing with the Cayugas to attack the French at the end of thesummer with the approval of the English who planned to cut off their trade with the Ottawas. De la Barrealso maintained that the English harbored a large body of French deserters whom they hired as guidesto enhance their trade with the Ottawas. (46)

Due to the above charges made by the Governor of Canada, a series of dispatches established a line ofcommunication in order to maintain the peace in that region. Thomas Dongan opened up the exchangeby telling De la Barre that the he has been misinformed as to the Iroquois. Dongan said that the Iroquoishave traded with his government for about forty years and nowhere else, unless they (The French) did itby "stealth." Governor Dongan then reminded De la Barre that the Iroquois were nearer to his colonythen his and that the comprised all the land to the south and Southwest of the Lake of Canada. (47) Thenadded in reply to the French claim that French Missionaries had planted Christianity in that region longbefore any other Europeans had seen it and that the Governors of New France had gained sovereigntyin the region by conquest and treaties, Dongan maintained that the English had proper claim also. (48) To conclude this early communication, Dongan informed De la Barre that "nobody hath a greater desireto have a strict union with you, and good correspondence, than myself (himself), who served long time inFrance, and was much obliged by the King and gentry of the country." (49)

Peace, however, did not come easily to the region since the Indian tribes of the Mohawk Valleycontinued to bring trouble to the French. Consequently, these Indian attacks was the cause for the nextcommunication between De la Barre and Dongan. De la Barre charged that the Senecas and Cayugashad made a sneak attack on Fort Saint Louis after he made an arrangement with them to removeMonsieur de la Salle from his post and plundered seven French canoes laden with merchandise for trade detaining the fourteen French crewman for ten days. This operation, De la Barre added wascarried out as negotiations were in process to settle the obvious strained relations between them andthe Senecas and served only to exacerbate the situation. Therefore De la Barre charged that since hecould expect nothing but murder and treason from these people that there was no doubt in his mind thatwar must be declared on them. Therefore, he concluded that he must send expeditions out to punishthem. The Governor of Canada made it clear that because the Mohawks and the Oneidas were notinvolved in the incident, they wouldn't be a target of French reprisals that would be inflicted upon theSenecas. Governor De la Barre diplomatically asked Dongan to forbid the merchants of Albany to sellarms, powder or lead to those Iroquois who attacked his subjects and to those tribes who may serve asmiddlemen by disposing of or transferring any of these items to them. The Canadian Governor surmisedthat these attacks alone can intimidate them; and when they see the Christians united on this subject,they will show more respect than they have hitherto. (50)

It so happened that the Seneca Ambassador Tagancourt was in Quebec during the time of the ratificationof the now meaningless Treaty between the French and the Senecas. Therefore the Canadian Governordetained the Seneca ambassador due to the Indian attacks on his men.(51) Soon afterwards, he orderedJesuit missionaries Millet at Oneida, and the two Lambervilles at Onondaga, to intrigue in order to causedivision within the Iroquois Confederation that consisted of Five Indian tribes which were sovereignstates in their own right. The Iroquois Confederation was in sense a democracy that conducted itsgeneral business through a council of Sachems at Onondaga.(52) The allies of the French in the West (Hurons, Ottawas, and the Miamias) were deployed to the conflict area and Fort Frontenac wasreinforced. (53)

Upon receiving Governor De la Barre's memorandum, Dongan expressed regrets that he was not able toprevent recent hostilities. He stated that the Indians under question had placed themselves under theprotection of the King's government and are therefore subjects of the English monarch. Reaffirming theboundary extent of the Province of New York, Dongan accused the subjects of New France of violatingterritorial lands of the English nation. He expressed shock at a thing which would be scarcely believed inEngland. Dongan made it clear that he desired that the French government restrict their subjects fromengaging in trade with the Indian nations who were under the protection of the English. Dongan thenmade the proposal that if the French did not come South of the St. Lawrence and Lake Ontario, he wouldforbid the people of his province to go on the other side of the Lake. The Governor added that he wasso heartily bent to promote the quiet and tranquility of this country and De la Barre's that he planned tohold an Indian Conference in Albany in order to alleviate the cause for the French complaint. And added,if the Indians refused to give a just explanation for the incident, Dongan promised that he would notprotect them. (54)

At Albany, the Governor was confronted by Sachems of the Indian nations who came to Albany on urgentbusiness. They told the Governor of concerns that he could not ignore. Therefore, Governor Donganimmediately wrote to De la Barre, his counterpart in New France, that the Indians under his protectionfeared that the French were planning to make war on them and that they believed that the expeditionhad already begun. The New York Governor expressed indignation that De la Barre's government shouldthink of such a plan after the assurance Dongan gave to him to give satisfaction for the complaint. Hethen made the suggestion that if relations between the Canadian government and the Indians could notbe reconciled by actions in the new world, then the problem must be referred to their masters in Europe.(55) In addition, Dongan was quick to add that the Coat of Arms of his Royal Highness, the Duke of York,was set up in the Indian castles of his command in order to dissuade the French from performing anyactions which would cause a misunderstanding between the parties. (56)

The Indian conference, which Dongan desired convened, met on July 30, 1684. It was a generalconference in which representatives from other English colonies discussed problems they faced withthe Indians. Lord Effingham from Virginia sought to end, with Dongan's assistance, the frequent andintense Iroquois raids on settlements in Northern Virginia and Maryland which became a major source ofconcern due to the violation of a compact made at Albany in August, 1682.(57) Counselor Van Courtlandfrom Massachusetts came to the conference with the hope to re-establish friendly relations with theMohawks.

In the end, the importance of the conference rested on what was said rather than any concrete results itbrought. (58) Never-the-less the New York Governor did get a pledge from the Iroquois that they wouldplace themselves under the sovereignty and protection "of the great Sachem Charles that lives over theGreat Lake, and submitted to the authority of the government of New York." (59)

Governor De la Barre in his communication of July 25, 1684 that was actually written before the AlbanyIndian Conference called for by the New York Governor had met, expressed shock at the attitude alludedto by the Governor of New York in an earlier Communiqué that the Canadian Governor had received. Ofimportance, t a credibility gap was developing between the two Governors. Both men in theircommunications could not admit that they were contributing to a dangerous situation which could lead toan all out war. Both men were looking for justifications for their actions. De la Barre in thiscommunication would not accept or cater to Dongan's pretensions that the Duke's land extended to theLake of Ontario and the St. Lawrence River. De la Barre clearly took offense to the fact that at a timewhen his government was about to punish the Senecas and Cayugas for their acts of robbery andassassination, the Governor of New York served as their protector. De la Barre therein decided to sendMonsieur de Salvaye to Albany to explain the incident to Dongan in hope that he might change his mind.(60)

Monsieur de Salvaye, as per instructions from De la Barre, told Dongan:

"The Iroquois having lived, previous to the arrival of M, de la Barre in his Government with littleconsideration for the French, he was desirous to speak to them, to see if they were friends or foes, andthat purpose they were all assembled at Montreal last August where everything was arranged on afriendly basis; even the Senecas and Cayugas had demanded sieur De la Barre withdraw Sieur de la Sallefrom the government of St. Louis in Illinois." (61)

The French agent then charged that after De la Barre carried out his part of the friendship bond, theIndians responded to his gracias concessions with nothing more but blood. He testified that a band of200 Senecas and Cayuga warriors attacked in March of 1684 a French trading party numbering fourteenwhose mission was to trade with the Sioux. These men were overwhelmed and their seven canoes andgoods amounting to sixteen thousand pounds worth of merchandise were plundered. The Indiansdetained the men for nine days, subjecting them to many taunts and insults including disrobement toprevent escape. When the men were finally released, Salvaye charged that they were not given arms,provisions or canoes for enabling them to cross the rivers. Shortly thereafter, the before said Iroquoiswent and attacked Fort St. Louis where Monsieur Chevalier de Baugy was in command. The Indianswithdrew March 29, 16, 1684 after they failed three times in overturning the fort. (62)

Dongan, in replying to the instructions that De la Barre had given to his official representative, said thathe had no intension of justifying injuries inflicted by the Indians to the French 400 leagues southwestfrom Montreal or anywhere else. He reaffirmed his opinion that the Canadian Governor's pretensions tothat country on the slender grounds that it was served by Jesuit missionaries was false. He wondered ifthis complaint was just another excuse to extend one's borders without just cause. The governor thenonce again made the promise that in due time the French governor would get the satisfaction he desiredon the raid, Dongan in this communication was amused by the fact that the Canadian governor had to askthe subjects of a friendly power whether they were friends or enemies. The New York governorconcluded his response by wishing that his northern neighbor would have informed him beforethreatening military reprisal against the Indians. (63)

As it occurred, De la Barre began his expedition against the Iroquois on August 14, 1684 despiteGovernor Dongan's pleas. At first he was very successful, but continuing Indian warfare strained hisresources. Gradually, De la Barre was forced to retreat and pull back his forces to Fort Frontenac. At FortFrontenac, fever gradually reduced the ranks of his troops and De la Barre hastened across Lake Huronto the Salmon River. And as events evolved, De la Barre was forced to make Peace at La Famine. But thisso-called peace was achieved at a cost ... The now humbled Governor of New France also known asCanada had to agree to take his troops back to Quebec. The Iroquois in return promised to protect theFrenchman from harm as they continued their Indian feud with the Iroquois. (64)

With a expectation of peace arranged on this basis, the French troops went home without accomplishingthe objectives that their leader De la Barre desired for this expedition. On the other hand, GovernorDongan of New York, who had not committed the use of New York military forces to meet the threat ofFrench forces in New York among his Indians, but did indeed supply the Senecas with ammunitions,effectively won a battle in his quest toward English control over the Indians. And importantly, this Indianvictory over the French strengthened the English among the Indians of New York. For De la Barre, itmeant that his days as a French Governor in the New World would soon end with the naming of a newGovernor by the French government.

De la Barre was replaced as Governor by the Marquis de Denonville about the same time ThomasDongan became the Royal Governor of New York when Charles II, the King of England had died, and theJames, the Duke of York, had assumed the Crown as James II. According to Herbert Osgood, Denonvillewas a man of large experience, especially in military affairs, alert, systematic, and enthusiastic in theservice of the French Crown. His prime mission in being sent to New France was to repair the damagewhich had come to French interests through the weakness and mismanagement of De la Barre. (65) Thefact is, the French government was so mortified with De la Barre that the copy of his Treaty of La Famine,now in the Archives of the Marine at Paris, is endorsed by Jean-Baptiste Antoine Colbert, Marquis deSeignelay (66) with the words: "These are to kept secret." (67)

Denonville was instructed by the French Government to "humble the pride of the Iroquois" and giveassistance to the Illinois and other western tribes who were abandoned by his inept predecessor. Thenew governor was informed that Dongan was attempting to establish English control over the FiveNations and the territory up to and including the St. Lawrence River. Yet, Denonville was ordered tomaintain a good understanding with the English colonists. On the other hand, if any English subjectshould excite and aid the Indians against the French without the same time attempting anything onterritory under the obedience of the King of England, they must be treated as enemies when found onIndian territory. (68) At the same time, Monsieur Barillon, the French minister to the English court, wasordered to raise a complaint to James, the former Duke of York and recently established King ofEngland, that Dongan had hoisted the King's Coat of Arms on the villages of the Iroquois and to demandthat James order Dongan "to confine himself within the limits of the government and observe a differentline of conduct toward Sieur de Denonville." With these instructions, Denonville was certain that LouisXIV and his ministers would approve any aggressive policy which he would engineer during his reign.(69)

Dongan, because of deep political division in England, was not sure whether his policies would meet theapproval of the new monarch.(70) In fact, Dongan did not succeed in getting the King to recognizeofficially the Iroquois as his subjects until November 10, 1687.(71) It was a sign of Dongan'sforesightedness that he asserted his claim in defiance of two Canadian governors. It was to his creditthat Dongan did not let his Indian policy be influenced by religions emotions. Dongan was a Catholicwhom based his policy on his loyalty to his Master and the Colony to which he served. It was a sign ofcourage that Dongan asserted these claims without the approval of the other English colonies whichremained totally aloof from the whole affair since it did not concern them. In fact, their main problemsstemmed from the very Indians which were under Dongan's protection. The governor had a deep desireto establish a commercial military outpost at Niagara in order to gain trade advantages among thewestern Indians. (72)

The governor in 1685 initiated a policy of sending traders to the Ottawas. Before this time, Greehalghand his companions were the only Europeans under the New York government who has traveled as faras Seneca country. In a report of the State of the Province, Dongan expressed great pride when hereported, "Last Year some of our People went trading among the far Indians called the Ottawasinhabiting about three months journey to the West and West North of Albany from whence they broughtmany beavers. They found their people more inclined to trade with them then the French. The French notbeing able to protect them from the arms of our Indians with whom they had continued warfare, so thatour Indians brought away this very year a great many prisoners." Dongan then added that he hoped thathis Indians would make peace with the Ottawas so that a commercial road could link Albany to theOttawas, The governor then reported that intelligence informed him that the French governor of Canadahad built two forts in order to block English trade with the Western Indians. To guard against furtherFrench efforts to stop English trade, Dongan sent Colonel Patrick MacGregory, a Scotsman who servedin the French army and later was killed during the Leisler Rebellion, to accompany the trading parties.MacGregory, however, was not to initiate any conflict.Denonville as noted before was assigned to his charge in order to repair the sagging French prestigeamong the western Indians and to humble the pride of the Iroquois. Before he could accomplish thisfeat, he had to repair the defenses which De la Barre allowed to lapse. But he knew the Iroquois wouldlaunch attacks against him as soon as construction should begin. Therefore, he asked Louis XIV to sendregular French troops to the New World to aid him. Unfortunately, aid did not arrive from Louis and theSeneca warfare against the Illinois continued to weaken French prestige. Denonville soon becamepainfully aware that Dongan did not forbid the merchants of Albany from supplying the Iroquois withweapons and ammunition and eventually charged him with inciting the Indians to attack the French.Dongan always answered to this charge with a vigorous denial. Undaunted by such adversity, Denonvillecontinued preparations for way while seeking to open up dialogue with Dongan. In this dialogue, Denonville tried to avoid the pitfalls which undid his predecessor. Instead of creating arunning debate over the extent of territory each governor legally had jurisdiction over, Denonville triedto appeal to Dongan's emotions as a Catholic. However, as noted before, Dongan did not let himselfbecome trapped into sacrificing the interests of his colony. As a result, the dialogue between Donganand Denonville became increasingly heated. Only of Treaty of Whitehall, negotiated not between Donganand Denonville but between their masters in Europe, staved off total war between the two great powersof Europe in America.Dongan, writing in French, briefly outlines his experience with De la Barre upon wishing good relationsbetween him and Denonville, Denonville replied that De la Barre's actions can be excused due to thefact that he had to deal with the Senecas who were a heathen people without " neither religion, norhonor, nor subordination." The new governor said that Monsieur de la Barre had many causes ofcomplaint for "their conduct has not improved, having falsified their pledges by the violence which theycommitted this winter on the Ottawas."The new governor then made the following proposition: " I askyou Sir, what can be expected?" In a change of pace, the Canadian governor informed Dongan of hismonarch's zeal to spread the faith and asked Dongan to assist him in pacifying the natives in the name ofreligion. To accomplish this aim, Denonville suggested that Dongan immediately stop his merchants fromsupplying the Indians with goods which they used to continue their endless wars. Dongan, in his letterof July 27, 1686, reacted to this proposal for a New World Crusade with suspicion. However, he saw theneed to propagate the Christian religion and check Indian excesses against the French. But he made itclear that he did not wish to condone or tolerate French activities among the Iroquois.But as it happened, while Dongan was in the process of calling another Indian Conference to re-affirm orhold the Indians to their allegiance to the English protectorate, the Governor received word of Frenchmilitary action near Cataraqui, and sought to notify the governor of Canada of this intelligence. In thecommuniqué , he spoke of Denonville as a man of judgment who not attack the King of England'ssubjects. He labeled Denonville's intention of constructing a fort at Niagara as a dangerous flashback tothe days of De la Barre and predicted the return to hostile relations between the two colonial colonies ifa trade war develops over the trade for a few hides. Then the New York governor temporarilyoverlooked the issues at hand and looked forward to brighter days "when all these differences might beset aside by amicable correspondence." When Dongan again referred to issues at hand he affirmed: "Ifthere is anything amiss; it will not be his fault" even though he was aware that his people suffer daily bythe French illegal trade with is Indians.At Albany, Dongan advised the Iroquois that the French had sent provisions and military supplies toCataraqui (Fort Frontenac). This movement was part of an event which caused great concern andmerited constant observations of French actions by both the Iroquois and his government. Therefore, heurged the Indians to be watchful and to desist from making agreements with the French on war andpeace unless they obtained the approval of his government. In strong terms, the governor demandedthat the Indians resist French efforts to build a fort at Niagara or any other location that would constrictEnglish trade in furs. The Indians were advised to make no trade agreement with Christians without thegovernor's consent. Thus, the governor requested that the Indians continue to bring their peltry toAlbany where they would be assured of support in time when New York's fur trade was in the state ofdecline as a result of the Indian wars. To this proposal, the Indians had to capitulate or agree to due totheir awareness of the threat that the French forts could present. Therefore, they agreed to tear themdown if the French tried to construct them. They, however, promised not to initiate action withoutprovocation; but in that case, they could expect help from the Governor.In answering the serious charges made by Dongan, Denonville discounted the provisioning of Cataraquias no provocation for Indian fear. He reminded the New York governor that the fort needed to besupplied and outfitted for the subsistence of the soldiers based there. He would not make a comment onDongan's pretensions that the French have illegally traded with the Indians on English land except to saythat it should be decided by their monarchs in Europe. Finally, Denonville once again asked Dongan tocease his activities among the Iroquois so that missionaries would have peace to accomplish theirmission. To this, Dongan replied that he would do anything possible to maintain the safety of thefathers. On the questions of French deserters, Dongan notified the French governor that the strictestcare shall be taken concerning runaways from his Province. If the Canadian governor should desire thathe extradite them back to Canada, he will comply on the condition that they shall not be put to death,But as it happened, no steps were to send the deserters back to Canada while rumors continued to becirculated that the New York governor was still urging the Iroquois to attack the French. This situationdrew a stern letter of protest from the Canadian Governor. Denonville refused to believe that James IIapproved Dongan's policy of aiding and abetting another attack on the French. He then remindedDongan that his unilateral actions without the consent of his monarch was breaking a pledge he oncemade to submit all disputes to their masters in Europe. In this case, Denonville was referring to anEnglish emissary sent to the Onodagas in order to stir the Iroquois to pillage and make war on Canadaand her Indian allies in the name of New York. Denonville was not certain whether this action washatched or precipitated by the Governor of New York or the merchants of Alban. But he knew this actionand Dongan's trading missions with the Michilmaqins and Mackinacs violated a trust. In the latter case,Denonville was referring to the trading missions with the Ottawas that Dongan initiated in 1685.On the question of deserters, he once again accused Dongan of breaking a sacred promise by allowingFrench deserters whom he called knaves and bankrupts to take refuge in New York. He warned Donganthat someday the merchants who employ them will be punished for confiding in rogues who will be notmore faithful to them then they have been to his government. Lastly, Denonville took issue on the factthat New York merchants supplied the Indians liberally with alcoholic beverages converting thesavages" into savage demons and their cabins into counterparts and theatres of hell."Dongan replied , "Our rum does as little hut as your brandy and in the opinion of Christians is much morewholesome; however, to keep the Indians temperate and sober is very good and Christian performancebut to prohibit them all strong liquors seems a little hard and very Turkish."As we alluded to before, Thomas Dongan in 1685 sent Johannes Roosebom to go where no Englishmanor English trader had trekked before. And as luck would have it, this enterprise proved to be verysuccessful, thus yearly expeditions to this new market were planned. However, on the negative side,these expeditions brought protests from the French government in Canada who resented Englishinterference with their allies. But in 1685, Governor Denonville had no clue that the English expeditionwas in progress until too late, with the consequence that he was unable to take measures to block theexpedition's passage to the Ottawa. And with communications not as immediate or instantaneous in theseventeenth century as it is in the twenty-first century, the new government of Canada could only send adelayed report back to France detailing what it knew about Thomas Dongan's provocative enterprise intrading with the western savages in parties led by French deserters. Denonville, in a letter informed French Minister Seignelay that he was inclined "to go straight to Albany,storm their fort and burn everything." Dononville's complaint was that the English in North Americastirred up the Iroquois against his government and sent parties to the Michilimackinac to equally rob hisgovernment of what its traditional share of the trade in the region affected was . Opined Denonville, tobest deal with this situation it would be better to declare war against the English then to perish by theirintrigues.Inevitably, Dononville's protest to his superiors in France, went through diplomatic channels and drewthis reply from the Royal Governor of New York, Thomas Dongan:" Be assured, Sir that I have not solicited or bribed the Indians to arise and make warr against you. All thepaines I have taken hath bin to keep those people in quiet who are inclinable to warr that one word isenough for them, I have forbidden their joining (if they should be entreated) with others against youneither have I ever allowed any to plunder. I have only permitted severall of Albany to trade amongst theremotest Indians with strict orders not to meddle with any of your people, and i hope they will finde thesame civiltry from you -- It being so far from pillaging that I believe it as lawful for the English as Frenchnations to trade there we being nearer by many leagues than you are -- I desire you to send me word whoit was that pretended to have my orders for the Indians to plunder and fight you."Dongan therein refused to budge so he sent out another trading mission in 1686. Teaming MajorMacGregory with Johannes Rooseboom on a mission to the Ottawas to establish permanent traderelations and alliances with other tribes of the Northwest. However, this time, Denonville was preparedto intervene. In June 1686, Denonville sent orders to Du Luht, who was at Michilimackinac, to occupyDetroit with fifty Courteus de Bois. And this intervention, also resulted in the construction of a stockadeon the western side of the strait near the outlet of Lake Huron. It also was Denonville's desire for theFrench to establish a post at Niagara as well as develop a magazine at Fort Frontenac at Cadaraqui toserve as an aid to any attack on the Senecas.During the summer of 1687, the correspondence between Dongan and Denonville temporarily brokedown due to the revelation of a French-Indian offensive inside Seneca territory. Unfortunately for theFrench, the Senecas obtained prior knowledge of the French intention to destroy their people andhome. As a consequence, the Senecas sustained no heavy losses except for damages to their fields andvillages. Therefore, not achieving their objective of the attack immediately, the French went toMichiliimvkinac to rally their western allies for war.Presenting an account of events which led up to and transpired after the abortive attack by the Frenchon the Senecas, Nanning Harmenste, Frederick Harmenste, and Dyrick Vander Hyden spoke September7, 1687 before a hearing conducted by Nicholaus Bayard, the Mayor of New York. These men testifiedthat Captain Rooseboom set out the previous fall with a trading party in order to engage in commercewith the Ottawas and Western tribes as far as Lake Huron. Enroot to Ottawa country, one of Rooseboom'sassociates, Captain MacGregory, separated from the trading party taking twenty- nine men with him.Rooseboom's group numbering thirty-five then proceeded toward Detroit and Ottawa Country. About oneand a half days before Rooseboom's scheduled arrival at the Castle of the Ottawas, his party wassurrounded by a band of French and Indians numbering One-Hundred Twenty. Rooseboom was given theoption of electing to surrender his party to the French or "have his men to a man be put to death by fireand sword." The captain chose the former with the result that his party was taken to Ottawa country asprisoners. The merchandise which Rooseboom carried was distributed by the French to the Indians inorder to gain allies. From propaganda, the Ottawas were led to believe that the English traders had cometo their lands in order to plunder. They were informed by the French that the Senecas who were subjectsof the English have brutally burnt Ottawa prisoners of war. Quite naturally, such propaganda inflamedOttawa passions against the English and towards the French. However, when the Mahikander Indiansamong the Roosebloom party explained that their purpose was to trade and propose peace with theSenecas, five of the Ottawa Indian Chieftains were convinced of the friendly intentions of the Englishand they desired to bestow vast gifts on them. But basically, the Western Indian tribes rallied behind theFrench Flag. After spending a few days in the Ottawa camp., the French transferred the prisoners toNiagara which was "on this side of the Great Lake." Enroot to Niagara, the French and Indian band metCaptain MacGregory midway between Detroit and Niagara, The said French-Indian troop strength stoodat 1,500. MacGregory's forcer, strengthened by recruits, stood at twenty-nine Christians, six Indians andeight prisoners. In the event of battle, MacGregory's force so undermanned as compared to theopposition force would probably be mauled severely or completely destroyed. Therefore, having reallyno choice and not really wanting to be a dead hero, MacGregory elected to surrender his forceto French authorities without a fight. Again, the merchandise which MacGregory brought to trade withthe Indians was confiscated by the French to be used for their own ends. And the capture of all membersof the English Trade expedition, the French with their prisoners in tow, completed their journey toNiagara and built a fort much to the displeasure of the Royal Governor of New York.Later, the Governor of Canada ordered that the prisoners be transferred to Cadaraqui except for AbellMerion, one of Rooseboom's troops who was executed simply because he was French born even thoughhe was an English subject and had a pass from his Excellency. At Cadaraqui, the English traders wereforced by the French to construct a few buildings. After the work was completed, the prisoners receivedorders to advance to Montreal where at first they received greater freedom and liberty than they wereallowed previously by their captors. However, after the arrival of the Governor of Canada in Montreal,the prisoners were confined. Governor Denonville then made it known that the prisoners would not bereleased until Dongan desisted from his subversive activities among the Seneca Indians against theFrench. Shortly, thereafter, Harmanste and three other men escaped from their captors in Quebec andwithin five days, they reached Albany. At Albany, they spread tales of French plans to destroy theSenecas. Governor Dongan was very aware of what occurred. Just the same, he was deeply concernedby the Indians failure to heed his words on contact with the French. The New York Governor was verydisturbed at the French violation of the recently negotiated Treaty of Whitehall. But things were notpurely black and white, Dongan himself was not completely abiding by these provisions either bysupplying ammunition and guns to the Indians. Therefore, it was in the interest of the New YorkGovernor to make sure whether or not the Senecas were the provocateurs of the French attackon them. For this purpose, the New York Governor called the Five Nations of the Iroquois to come toAlbany for a full-fledged and formal Indian Conference..The governor's assembly of the Five Nations convened on August 5, 1687. The governor expressedpleasure that the Indians saw fit to attend the meeting. He was "heartily glad" that the Indians sufferedlight losses in their recent confrontation with the French. He told the assembly that he was sending anemissary to England to inform the King of French violation of his territory. Because of this, Donganwanted the Indians to give him a truthful account of what occurred. That is, to tell him whether the"Brethren" did anything to provoke the French or not for he feared a European-American war mightresult. Blaming a covenant chain in which some of the Indians made with the French three yearspreviously, Dongan expressed a hope that Denonville "would not enter the king's land withoutprovocation if they thought they were English subjects;" therefore, he concluded that the Indians havebrought trouble upon themselves by their trade with the French. To this point, Dongan entreated theIndians not to trade with the French anymore. The governor also expressed displeasure that the Indiansmade peace and war without the consent of the New York government. Dongan said, "We (the English)cannot live without you, you can't." Acknowledging that a state of war existed between the Senecas andthe French, Dongan pleaded that no treaties be made by them without the advice of the governor,Dongan then informed the Indian tribes present that if they should abide by these regulations, peace canbe achieved and they shall benefit from the great chain of friendship that is lately concluded betweenGreat Britain and France --- "The Treaty of Whitehall." Dongan concluded his statement with a sterncomment ordering the Indians to desist from warlike activities in other English colonies such asMaryland and Virginia.Denonville launched his expedition on the Senecas just as word came from Europe that the Treaty ofWhitehall was negotiated between the monarchs of France and England. However, due to the slowcommunication that existed in the period, Denonville may not have been aware of what transpired inEurope. The Treaty of Whitehall was a treaty of neutrality in which the great sovereigns of France andEngland agreed to cease all hostilities in the New World. A provision in the treaty stipulated that thereshould be frank and open dialogue between the governors of the prospective governments. No aid wasto be given either side should the Indians start hostilities and trade by nationals of either nation berestricted to areas controlled by the prospective colonial government. The treaty further madeprovisions that unlicensed merchants be prosecuted as pirates and should war erupt between Englandand France in Europe, no such hostile actions should be fanned in America. In a sense, the WhitehallTreaty was a victory for French diplomacy in that it delayed a showdown between the two colonial powerson the control of the Seneca country. The English sovereign, in failing to take a strong stand on theexact boundaries of his colonies, sacrificed the Indian buffer zone around his settled areas.Despite the provisions of the Treaty of Whitehall. Dongan foresaw the urgency to make preparations forthe defense of New York. Therefore, he insisted that a string of forts be built on the New York frontier,especially at sites on Lake Champlain, Salmon River and at Niagara. At the same time, he sent CaptainJohn Palmer to London with instructions forwarded to the King concerning the recent French activities.In the meantime, in spent the winter in Albany.Palmer arrived in London in time for the second round of the Treaty of Whitehall negotiations with themain topic of boundaries. Therefore, the debate which began between Fort James and Montreal was notbeing discussed at higher levels between Paris and London. Failure to find solution at the inter-coloniallevel may result in open conflict solely in the area where the grievances transpired. But failure to findsolutions to small problems at high official level can lead to war. In this case, the war was delayed but itcame a few years later. At the conference table, the French commissioners charged that MonsieurDongan and the inhabitants of Albany continued to thwart as much as they can French power in Americaby their criminal violation of the treaty of neutrality due to their activities among the Indians. Because ofthis activity, the French commissioners insisted that James II issue orders to his governor to desist fromsuch activities. The French Commissioner Barill'on likewise requested that the Governor of Boston beasked to evacuate the fort he established at Acadia.At a later meeting, the ambassador presented the French claim to those areas which Governor Donganclaimed due to the fact of exploration and conquest. However James, was not easily persuaded to thisclaim by the French for he did entertain for some time the desire to extend his dominion by including theIroquois as his subjects. Therefore, when Governor Dongan in his dispatches from Palmer revealed thefact that the French threatened the fur trade by their occupation of Niagara, the King made it known thathe considered the Senecas, Cayugas, Oneidas and Onondagas as subjects of Great Britain due to theirvoluntary submission to protectorate made the thirteenth day of July, 1684. Thus as it occurred, Donganon November 30, 1687, won an important victory as the policy he devised for the expansion of New YorkProvince won the approval of the King. James II authorized him to take all steps necessary to protect theIndian tribes of the Five Nations in case of French attack. Dongan therein was given the authority toresist this threat with all possible might that New York and the other colonies could muster. Thegovernor was given the authority by the King to erect and build such forts, castles and platforms thatmay be needed for the defense of the colony.Upon returning to New York City after a Winter's stay in Albany, Dongan re-opened his correspondencewith the Canadian governor. However, the mood of the communication changed. It was not acommunication of welcome or hope but one of accusation. Both men blamed each other for the problemsthey faced. Both men became bitter enemies. In less than a year, Dongan would be removed from officeto make way for the Dominion of New England Eventually, Dongan would return to England to become theSecond Earle of Limerick on the death of his brother. On December 14, 1715 Dongan would meet his owndeath.Dongan, in his Indian policy, was deeply concerned over who controlled the fur trade of the MohawkValley. If the trade was to be controlled by the French, it would severely limit the development of hiscolony and restrict it harshly. If the English should control this valuable trade, then there was a chancethat the British would be able to establish a new formed empire in the New World. Control of the Indiantribes also meant that the settlers of New York would be free of Indian attacks on their homes and thedestruction and blood associated with these attacks. And what-is-more, since the Indians were subjectsof the Crown, they would act as a buffer zone should the French attack. But on the opposite end of thespectrum, since the Iroquois were his subjects, Dongan was obligated to supply the Indians with arms fortheir protection. But it happened that the Indians used these arms in order to continue their wars withthe French controlled Indians and French traders. And of course, these attacks on the part of the Indiansand the policy of Dongan toward French trade made friendly relations between Canada difficult if notimpossible. And if one applies common sense and logic to this political situation, Relations betweenCanada and New York could not be very friendly when one considers the fact that the French had similardesires as Dongan. Then what would be the end game ... Eventually, the interests of these two colonialpowers would collide with the result that a Major War in the Americas would be fought with the Britishinterest prevailing ... But that would not end troubles for the British in the New World for their efforts torecover the cost of their military activities in the New World would produce another crisis which wouldend with a loss of a large part of their empire in the New World and the creation of a new nation on theAmerican continent.We repeat what we said earlier about Thomas Dongan ...In this office Dongan proved himself an ablelawgiver, and left an indelible mark on political and constitutional history. He convened the firstrepresentative assembly of New York Province on October 14,1683, at Fort James within the presentboundaries of the city of New York. This assembly, under the wise supervision of Dongan, passed an actentitled "A Charter of Liberties"; decreed that the supreme legislative power under the Duke of Yorkshall reside in a governor, council, and the people convened in general assembly; conferred upon themembers of the assembly rights and privileges making them a body coequal to and independent of theBritish Parliament; established town, county, and general courts of justice; solemnly proclaimed the rightof religious liberty; and passed acts enunciating certain constitutional liberties, e.g. no taxation withoutrepresentation; taxes could be levied only by the people met in general assembly; right of suffrage; nomartial law or quartering of the soldiers without the consent of the inhabitants; election by majority ofvotes; and the English law of real property.Thus to Dongan's term as governor can be dated the Magna Charta of American constitutional liberties,for his system of government became the program of continuous political agitation by the colonists ofNew York Province during the eighteenth century. It developed naturally into the present stategovernment, and many of its principles passed into the framework of the Federal Government.Moreover, a rare tribute to his genius, the government imposed by him on New York Province, 1683, wasadopted by England after the American War of Independence as the framework of her colonial policy, andconstitutes the present form of government in Canada, Australia, and the Transvaal. Dongan signed theCharter of Liberties October 30, 1683, and on the following day solemnly proclaimed it at the City Hall ofNew York City. The Duke of York signed and sealed the Charter October 4., 1684; but never returned it,probably for reasons of prudence, for at the time Charles II had, by a quo warranto proceeding, abolishedthe Charters of New England, and the Charter of Pennsylvania granted in 1684 distinctly admits the rightof Parliament to tax the colonies. The Board of Trade and Plantations, under whose supervision the province passed, vetoed the Charterof Liberties and James approved the veto. The colonists were disappointed, but such was the moralstrength of Governor Dongan that we find no trace of popular resentment. In 1685 Dongan established apost office in New York for the better correspondence of the colonies in America. In 1686 he grantedcharters to the cities of New York and Albany; the former remained unchanged for 135 years and formsthe basis of the existing city government; the latter was superseded only in 1870, notwithstanding theextraordinary development in civil and political institutions. Dongan established a college under thedirection of the Jesuit Fathers Harvey (his own private chaplain), Harrison, and Gage in New York City,and advised that the King's Farm, a tract beyond the walls of the then existing city, be set aside for itsmaintenance. The king vetoed the grant, and in 1705 this land became the property of Trinity Church. Heplanned that a mission of English Jesuits be permanently established at Saratoga, New York, on landpurchased by him for the purpose; that a settlement of Irish Catholics be founded in the centre of theProvince; and that an expedition be made to explore the Mississippi River and take possession of thegreat valley then made known by the explorations of La Salle. These plans were set aside by the king.In 1687, the Assembly of New York was dissolved by the king, and in 1688 Andros was appointedGovernor of the consolidated Provinces of New York and New England. Dongan refused command of aregiment with the rank of major-general, retired to his estate on Staten Island, New York,James, as we explored, had undertaken to grant constitutional government to New York, and wasprepared to sign a charter, when suddenly he became king and changed his mind in light of his foreignproblems.. This change of purpose had a military reason. In order to oppose a more solid front toCanada, James wished to unite all his northern colonies under a single military governor. Circumstancesseemed to favor him. Massachusetts, the most populous and powerful of the colonies, had sustained abitter quarrel with Charles II. during the whole of that king’s reign, until just before his death he hadsucceeded in getting a chancery decree annulling the charter of Massachusetts. In 1686 James II. sentSir Edmund Andros to Boston to assume the government over all New England. The fact is, Plymouth hadnever had a charter, and those of Connecticut and Rhode Island could be summarily seized. As for NewYork, the king revoked his half-granted charter and annexed that province to New England. New Jerseysoon met the same fate, and legal proceedings were begun against the charter of Maryland. Apparentlynothing was safe except the sturdy infant colony of William Penn, whose good-will the king could notafford to alienate.In August, 1688, Andros came in to New York, and with due ceremonies the seal of that province wasbroken in his presence, and the seal of united New England was ordered to be used in its stead. Ex-Governor Dongan remained in the neighborhood for about a year, attending to some private business,and then went home to Ireland during the Leister rebellion, where he afterwards became Earl ofLimerick. After a stay of two months in New York and Albany, Sir Edmund Andros returned to Boston inOctober, 1688, carrying off with him such of the New York public records as he wished to have on handfor reference, and leaving Francis Nicholson behind as his representative and lieutenant. We cannotblame the good people on Manhattan Island if they openly resented this unceremonious treatment. Thusto ignore their natural and proper sentiments of local patriotism, and summarily annex them to NewEngland, was an outrage of the worst sort, and put a severe strain upon such feelings of loyalty as theymay have cherished toward James II.But the strain did not endure long. The rule of Andros in Boston had already become insupportable.Arbitrary taxes were imposed, common lands were encroached upon, and the writ of habeas corpus wassuspended. A strict and vexatious censorship was kept over the press. All the public records of the lateNew England governments were ordered to be brought to Boston, whither it thus became necessary tomake a tedious journey in order to consult them. All deeds and wills were required to be registered inBoston, and excessive fees were charged for the registry. It was proclaimed that all private titles to landwere to be ransacked, and that whoever wished to have his title confirmed must pay a heavy quit-rent,which under the circumstances amounted to blackmail. The representative assembly was abolished. Thepower of taxation was taken from the town meetings and lodged with the governor. And when the townof Ipswich, led by its pastor, John Wise, one of the most learned and eminent men of his time, made aprotest against this crowning iniquity, the sturdy pastor was thrown into prison, fined £50 (i. e. at least$1000), and suspended from the ministry. In view of such facts the bad reputation and unpopularityacquired by Andros in New England cannot well be said to have been undeserved. He earned it byobeying too thoroughly the orders of a master whose conduct Englishmen could not endure. Early in1688 a commission headed by Increase Mather, president of Harvard College, was sent over to Englandto expostulate with James II. They found England aglow with the spirit of rebellion. The flames burst forthwhen on the 5th of November (Guy Fawkes’s day!) the Prince of Orange landed in Devonshire. BeforeChristmas the last Stuart king had fled beyond sea, leaving a vacant throne.It was of course a moment of engrossing business for the great Dutch prince, and he took the occasionto prepare a short letter for the American colonies enjoining upon them to retain all King James’sarrangements undisturbed for the present until leisure should be found for revising them. Dr. Matherdid not wish to have any such instructions sent to Boston, for he saw in them the possibility that Androsmight hold over until it would be awkward to get rid of him without interfering with some plan of WilliamIII. By skilful pleading with the new king, in which he was aided by Sir William Phips, the wily Mathersucceeded in delaying the departure of the letter. This was in February, 1689, and it was not until late inMarch that the flight of James II. and the success of the Prince of Orange became known inMassachusetts. The glowing embers of rebellion were quickly fanned into a blaze. On the 18th of Aprilarmed yeomanry began pouring into Boston in response to the signal on Beacon Hill, and Sir Edmundsaw that his hour had come. He tried to escape to the Rose frigate in the harbour, in the hope of findinga refuge in New York, but his Puritan foes had no mind to let him off so easily. He was seizedand securely lodged in jail, and several of his agents and abettors were also imprisoned, among themChief Justice Dudley, who had lately had the impudence to tell the people of New England that the onlyliberty left them was that of not being sold for slavesMassachusetts then at once restored her old government as it was before her charter was annulled, andshe caused this to be announced in England, explaining that it was done provisionally until the new king’s pleasure should be known. Obviously the improvement in her position through Dr. Mather’sastuteness was great. No one could interpret her rebellion as aimed at any other sovereign than thedethroned James. Instantly the other New England colonies followed suit. Plymouth, Rhode Island, andConnecticut quietly resumed their old governments. James’s consolidated New England thus fell topiecesPlease note -James II of England, unlike his reckless brother, Charles II, was extremely religious, and hisreligion was that of Rome. The large majority of the people of England were Protestants; but they wouldhave submitted to a Catholic king had he not used his official power to convert the nation to Catholicism.From the time of James's accession, in 1685, the unrest increased, until, three years later, the oppositionwas so formidable that the monarch fled from his kingdom and took refuge in France. The daughter ofJames and her husband, the Prince of Orange, became the joint sovereigns of England as William andMary. This movement is known in history as the English Revolution.After James II, the English monarch, was deposed (1688) Governor Andros as we detailed above s wascaptured by the colonists in Boston and sent to England as a prisoner. Lieutenant Governor FrancisNicholson was left in power in New York. There were people in New York upon whom these events werenot for a moment lost. The lieutenant-governor, Francis Nicholson, was in an awkward position. If Androshad come away in the Rose frigate to New York, where he could direct affairs from Fort James, all wouldhave been simple enough. If he had been killed there would have been no difficulty, for Nicholson wouldhave become acting-governor. But as Andros was only locked up, Nicholson did not know just in whatlight to regard himself or just how much authority to assume. He belonged to that large class ofcommonplace men who are afraid of assuming responsibility. So he tried to get messages to Andros inhis Boston jail, but found very little counsel or comfort in that way.colonists, who desired representative government, suspected that Nicholson had deliberately neglectedthe Manhattan fort to invite French invasion. They dreaded the Catholic influence of former governorDongan (in retirement on Long Island) and were enthusiastic over the accession of William of Orange(William III) to the English throne. Nicholson's unwillingness to recognize William or to assemble themilitia against a rumored French naval attack led the militia to demand surrender of the fort - and torequest Leisler to lead them. The governor's council proved unable to maintain control. Leisler,recognized as leader of the workingmen and most of the militia, proclaimed allegiance to William andMary and gained the support of significant Dutch and English elements in the province.The English Revolution of 1688 divided the people of New York into two well-defined factions. In general,the small shopkeepers, small farmers, sailors, poor traders and artisans allied against the patroons, richfur-traders, merchants, lawyers and crown officers. The former were led by Leisler, the latter by PeterSchuyler (1657-1724), Nicholas Bayard (c. 1644-1707), Stephen Van Cortlandt (1643-1700), William Nicolls(1657-1723) and other representatives of the aristocratic Hudson Valley families. The Leislerians claimedgreater loyalty to the Protestant successionOf course, news of the accession of William and Mary and of the imprisonment of Andros at Bostoncreated a great excitement in New York; and the militia, led by Jacob Leisler, a German merchant, tookpossession of the government. Nicholson fled in June 1689. An elected Committee of Safety for sixcounties named Leisler captain of the Manhattan fort and then commander in chief. He repaired the fortand consolidated the support of most of the city's population, jailing those few who questioned thecommittee's authority. When official communications addressed to Nicholson or to "such as for the timebeing … [are] administering the laws" were delivered to him, Leisler assumed that this was effectiverecognition of his place as provisional lieutenant governor. In fact, however, the British governmentnever sanctioned his takeover; Col. Henry Sloughter had already been named governor and given twocompanies of troops to accompany him to New YorkFor two years Leisler, with the aid of his son-in-law, Jacob Milborne, governed the colony with vigor andenergy. But he offended the aristocracy and the magistrates, who pronounced him a usurper. Meantimehe took measures to defend the colony against the French and Indians, who had fallen on the frontiertown of Schenectady, had massacred the people, and had burned the town.Leisler functioned as executive for over a year. He suppressed riots, collected customs duties,instituted courts, and called an elective assembly from portions of the colony acknowledging hisadministration. He also organized an inter-colonial expedition against Canada after the Schenectadymassacre of 1690 and gained the grudging support of local Albany authorities. But his attempt to collecttariffs turned some merchants against him. He imprisoned key aristocrats who attempted to underminehis position, though he showed clemency to mob leaders who assaulted him physically. He filled officialposts with kinsmen and supporters.According to Elson, The Leisler movement was in part the outgrowth of the anti-Catholic wave that sweptover England and her colonies during the reign of James II, and Leisler's vivid imagination greatlymagnified the danger of a general religious war. He called for the election of an assembly to vote taxesfor the pending war with Canada, but many of the people denied his authority and refused to respond. Louis XIV, the king of France, was a Catholic and in full sympathy with James. Moreover, he denied theright of a people to change sovereigns, and espoused the cause of James; and war between the twonations followed. This war was reflected in America, as King William rejected an offer of colonialneutrality, and it is known as "King William's War." The English colonies had long watched the Frenchencroachments on the north; the French determined to hold the St. Lawrence country, and to extendtheir power over the vast basin of the Mississippi; and each was jealous of the other concerning thefisheries and the fur trade. To these differences must be added an intense religious feeling. The Englishcolonies were almost wholly Protestant except Maryland, and even in Maryland the Protestants were in alarge majority. New France was purely Catholic, and the two forms of Christianity according to Elson hadnot yet learned to dwell together, or near together, in harmony. King James had not confined his designsto the home country; he had not only revoked some of the colonial charters and sent the tyrant Andros todomineer New England, but he had instructed his Catholic governor of New York, Dongan, to influencethe Catholic religion into the colony. It was at this time that Leisler seized the government of New York,and called the first colonial congress.Exasperated by these things, the English colonists were eager for the conflict, while the FrenchCanadians were equally ready to grapple with them. King William's War was very different in aim andmeaning in the colonies from what it was beyond the Atlantic. In America it was the first of several fiercecontests, covering seventy years; or, it may be said, it was the beginning of a seventy years' war withintervals of peace, for the supremacy in North America.Leisler's next step was one that Elson suggested was the beginning of great things. He called for ameeting in New York of delegates from all the colonies to make preparations for the war, and the sevendelegates that met, chiefly from New England, constituted the first colonial congress in America. Theytook counsel concerning the coming war and the clouds were now darkening around the head of Leisler,with the end result that his career was almost over. The war began by a series of Indian massacres instigated by Comte de Frontenac, the new governor ofCanada. The first of these was the destruction of Dover, New Hampshire, a town of fifty inhabitants. Onenight in July, 1689, two squaws came to the home of the aged Major Waldron and begged a night'slodging. Being admitted, they rose in the night and let in a large number of Indians who lay in ambush.Waldron was put to death with frightful tortures, the town was burned to the ground, about half thepeople were massacred, and the remainder were carried away and sold into slavery. In the followingmonth Pemaquid, Maine, met a similar fate. In February, 1690, a body of French and Indians, sent byFrontenac, came to the town of Schenectady on the Mohawk. For nearly a month they had faced thewintry blasts, plowing their way through the deep snow on their mission of destruction. At midnight theyfell with dreadful yells upon the sleeping village. In a few hours all was over; the town was laid in ashes.More than sixty were massacred, many were taken captive, a few escaped into the night and reachedAlbany. The towns of Casco and Salmon Falls soon after met a similar fate.The war spirit was now aroused throughout the colonies. It was determined, through Leisler's congress,to send a land force against Montreal by way of Lake Champlain, and a naval expedition against Quebec.The expenses of the former were borne by Connecticut and New York, and of the latter byMassachusetts. Sir William Phipps of Maine, who had this same year, 1690, captured Port Royal in NovaScotia, commanded the naval force. He had thirty or more vessels and two thousand men. But thevigilant Frontenac, in spite of his fourscore years, was on the alert. He successfully repelled the landforce, which turned back disheartened, and then hastened to the defense of Quebec. But here he hadlittle to do. Phipps was a weak commander, and the fleet, after reaching Quebec and finding it wellfortified, returned to Boston without striking an effective blow. The people of Massachusetts weregreatly disappointed at the failure of the expedition. The debt of the colony had reached an enormousfigure, and to meet it bills of credit, or paper money, were issued to the amount of £40,000. Phipps wassoon afterward sent to England to seek aid of the king and a renewal of the old charter that Andros haddestroyed. King William was hard pressed at home, and he left the colonies to fight their own battles; healso refused to restore the old charter, but he granted a new one, and made Phipps the first royalgovernor of Massachusetts.The war dragged on for several years longer, but it consisted only in desultory sallies and frontiermassacres. The towns of York, Maine, Durham, New Hampshire, and Groton, Massachusetts, were thescenes of bloody massacres, and hundreds of people were slain.In 1697 a treaty of peace was signed at Ryswick, a village near The Hague, and the cruel war wastemporarily over. Acadia, which had been prematurely incorporated with Massachusetts, was restored toFrance. But this treaty was only a truce. The English and French nations had created a bond of perpetualfriendship. Thus as a consequence, they were unable to make no progress in settling the questions indispute .After the death of William and Mary the crown of England was settled (1702) on Anne, the sister of Mary.James, the exiled king, died in 1701, and his son, known as James the Pretender, was proclaimed king ofEngland by the French sovereign. This act alone would have brought another war, but there was anotherprovocation. King Louis of France placed his grandson, Philip of Anjon, on the throne of Spain, and thusgreatly increased his power among the dynasties of Europe. This was very distasteful to the English, andthe war that followed was known as the War of the Spanish Succession. In America, however, it wasstyled Queen Anne's War (1702).In 1691 Henry Sloughter was appointed governor, and he sent his lieutenant before him to demand thesurrender of the fort. But the lieutenant could not prove his authority, and Leisler refused to surrender.At length, when Sloughter arrived, Leisler yielded to his authority and quiet was soon restored. ButLeisler's enemies were determined on his destruction. He and his son-in-law had been cast into prison,and Governor Sloughter, a weak and worthless man, was induced to sign their death warrants whiledrunk, tradition informs us. Before the governor had fully recovered his senses, Leisler and Milbornewere taken from the prison and hanged. Leisler had doubtless been legally in the wrong in seizing thegovernment; but his intentions were undoubtedly good, and his execution, after all danger was past, waslittle else than political murder, and it created two hostile factions in New York that continued for manyyears.With the passing of Leisler the royal government was restored, and the people for the first time securedthe permanent right to take part in their government, as in the other colonies, and, as in the others, theassembly steadily gained power at the expense of the governor, The royal governors sent to New Yorkwere, for the most part, men without principle or interest in the welfare of the people. A rare exceptionwe find in the Earl of Bellamont, who brief three years at the close of the century as governor of NewYork, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire were all too brief for the people, who had learned to love himas few royal governors were loved. His successor, Lord Cornbury, was probably the most dissoluterascal ever sent to govern an American colony, not even excepting the infamous Sothel ofthe Carolinas. As far as Thomas Dongan is concerned, during this period he was obliged to flee for safety in thereligious persecution aroused by Lesler in 1689. In 1691 he returned to England.By the death of his brother William (1698), late Governor of the Province of Munster, Ireland, whose onlyson, Colonel Walter, Lord Dongan, was killed at the battle of the Boyne, Dongan became Earl of Limerick.In 1702 he was recognized as successor to his brother's estates, but only on payment of claims of thepurchasers from the Earl of Athlone. Dongan died poor and without direct heirs. By will, dated 1713, heprovided that he be buried at an expense of not over £100, and left the residue of his estate to his niece,wife of Colonel Nugent, afterwards Marshal of France. The tribute of history to his personal charm, hisintegrity, and character, is outspoken and universal. His public papers give evidence of a keen mind anda sense of humor. He was a man of courage, tact, and capacity, an able diplomat, and a statesman ofprudence and remarkable foresight. In spite the brief term of five years as Governor of New YorkProvince, by virtue of the magnitude, of the enduring and far-reaching character of his achievements, hestands forth as one of the greatest constructive statesmen ever sent out by England for the governmentof any of her American colonial possess.

FOOTNOTES

1) Catholic Maryland, the first colony in the New World where religious toleration was established, wasplanned by George Calvert (first Lord Baltimore), a Catholic convert; founded by his son Cecilius Calvert(second Lord Baltimore), and named for a Catholic queen, Henrietta Maria, wife of Charles I of England2) Describes all the persons of the domestic circle, parents, children, and servants3)Genocide is the deliberate and systematic destruction, in whole or in part, of an ethnic,racial, religious, or national group.4) C Driscoll, John T. "Thomas Dongan." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 5. New York: Robert AppletonCompany, 1909. 8 Dec. 2009 <http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/05130a.htm>.5)http://www.olivercromwell.org/resources/cromwell_in_ireland.pdf ... John Morrill, ‘Was Cromwell a WarCriminal?’ first issue of the BBC History Magazine6)C Driscoll, John T. "Thomas Dongan." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 5. New York: Robert AppletonCompany, 1909. 8 Dec. 2009 <http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/05130a.htm>.and John R. Brodhead, History of the State of New York (Vol. 2, New York, 1891) p, 3707) http://www.answers.com/topic/henri-de-la-tour-d-auvergne-vicomte-de-turenne8)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peace_of_Nijmegen9)Driscoll, John T. "Thomas Dongan." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 5. New York: Robert AppletonCompany, 1909. 8 Dec. 2009 <http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/05130a.htm>.and John R. Brodhead,History of the State of New York (Vol. 2, New York, 1891) p, 37010)a heavy stone breakwater, quay or harbor wall11)E.M.G. Rout — Tangier: England's lost Atlantic outpost, 1912; M.Elbl, “(Re)claiming Walls: The FortifiedMédina of Tangier under Portuguese Rule (1471-1661) and as a Modern Heritage Artefact," PortugueseStudies Review 15 (1-2) (2007; publ. 2009): 103-192.12)http://www.queensroyalsurreys.org.uk/short_history/sh01.html13) Fiske, John, The Dutch and Quaker Colonies in America, Boston and New York: HoughtonMifflin, 1902, pp. 195-19814) Elson, Henry William , The History of the United States of America, The MacMillan Company, New York,1904. Chapter VII pp. 138-146. Transcribed by Kathy Leigh.15) Elson, Henry William , The History of the United States of America, The MacMillan Company, New York,1904. Chapter VII pp. 138-146. Transcribed by Kathy Leigh16)See McKinley, in "American Historical Review," Vol. VI, p. 1817) Elson, Henry William , The History of the United States of America, The MacMillan Company, New York,1904. Chapter VII pp. 138-146. Transcribed by Kathy Leigh18) Ibid19)Elson, Henry William , The History of the United States of America, The MacMillan Company, New York,1904. Chapter VII pp. 138-146. Transcribed by Kathy Leigh20)Fiske, John, The Dutch and Quaker Colonies in America, Boston and New York: Houghton Mifflin, 1902,p. 19921) See Brodhead’s History of the State of New York, ii. 385, 386.22) Elson, Henry William , The History of the United States of America, The MacMillan Company, New York,1904. Chapter VII pp. 138-146. Transcribed by Kathy Leigh23) Driscoll, John T. "Thomas Dongan." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 5. New York: Robert AppletonCompany, 1909. 8 Dec. 2009 <http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/05130a.htm>.24) Archdeacon, Thomas J. New York City, 1664–1710: Conquest and Change. Ithaca, N.Y.: CornellUniversity Press, 1976.25)Driscoll, John T. "Thomas Dongan." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 5. New York: Robert AppletonCompany, 1909. 8 Dec. 2009 <http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/05130a.htm>.26) Martha J. Lamb, History of the City of New York --- Its Origins, Rise, and Progress (Vol2, New York,1877) p. 29827)Great Britain Public Record Office, Calendar of State Papers Colonial Series, American andWest Indies 1681-1684 (London: 1871) p. xxii28) Charles M. Andrews, The Colonial Period of American History, (Vol. 3, New Haven, 1937) p. 123 - forentire text see E.B O'Callaghan , Documents Relating to Colonial History, (Vol. 3, Albany, 1853) p. 417.29) Dongan later in his governorship was deeply disturbed at the fact that the Indians continued to makecontacts with the French ... See New York Colonial Documents, (Vol. iii ) p. 44730) Great Britain Public Record Office, Calendar of State Papers Colonial Series, American and WestIndies 1681-1684 (London: 1871) p. xxiii31) Ibid32) Great Britain Public Record Office, Calendar of State Papers Colonial Series, American and WestIndies 1681-1684 (London: 1871) p. 651 and New York Colonial Documents, Vol. iii, p. 44733) Driscoll, John T. "Thomas Dongan." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 5. New York: Robert AppletonCompany, 1909. 8 Dec. 2009 <http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/05130a.htm34) L.E. Leder, Robert Livingston, 1654-1728 and the Politics of Colonial New York, (Chapel Hill, 1961) p. 47New York Colonial Documents, iii, p. 510-1135) Eight days later, New York's First General Assembly would convene at the fort.36) Allen W. Trelease, Indian Affairs in Colonial New York, (New York, 1960) p. 212-337) Ibid, p.21338) New York Historical Society, Collections of the Year 1870, (New York, 1871) p.378-38339) L.H.Leder, Robert Livingston, p.47-4840)New York Historical Society, Collections. p. 378-38341) Brodhead, History of the State of New York. p. 37742)Issac Stokes, The Iconography of Manhattan Island 1498-1909 (Vol. 3, New York, 1922) p. 340.43)Trelease, Indian Affairs, p. 25444)Samuel Haws, Pennsylvania Archives, (Vol. 1, Series 1, Philadelphia, 1852) p. 80-84.45)New York Colonial Documents, ix, p. 19746)Ibid, iii, p. 447 -- also found in Calendar of State Papers, 1681-84, p. 65147)Brodhead, History State of New York, ii, p. 394-39548)New York Colonial Documents, iii, p. 44749)New York Colonial Documents, iii, p. 447-44850)Brodhead, History of the State of New York, ii, p.38551)Martha Lamb, History of the City of New York, i, p. 30152)Brodhead, History of the State of New York, ii, p.39553)New York Colonial Documents, iii, p. 448 and Calendar of State Papers, 1681-1685, p. 660-66154)Dongan was under orders from the English King by means of a letter written by John Werden that hemust keep the peace in the region by all cost. For text see: New York Colonial Documents, iii, p.4New York Colonial History, iii, p. 448 and Calendar of State Papers, 1681-1685, p. 66155)Trelease, Indian Affairs, p. 25756)Ibid, p. 26257)New York Colonial History, iii, p. 41758)New York Documents Relating to Colonial History, iii, p. 45059)Brodhead in History State of New York states that De la Barre was glad to send de la Salle homebecause he thought he was a fraud and was a bit jealous over his popularity.60)Documents relating to Colonial History, p. 450-51 and Calendar of state papers, p. 67161)Calendar of State Papers, p. 671 and Documents Relating to Colonial History, iii, p. 45262)Brodhead, History of New York, pp. 395-43163)Herbert L. Osgood, The American Colonies in the Seventeenth Century, (Vol. 3, New York, 1907) p, 36764)Jean-Baptiste Antoine Colbert, Marquis de Seignelay (1 November 1651 - 3 November 1690) was aFrench politician. He was the eldest son of Jean-Baptiste Colbert, nephew of Charles Colbert de Croissyand cousin of Jean-Baptiste Colbert de Torcy.... On the death of his father in 1683, Seignelay was namedNavy Secretary by Louis XIV and held the post until his death. He accompanied Abraham Duquesne at thebombardment of Genoa in May 1684. He completed the Code Noir begun by his father. He was namedMinister in 1689. ..Seignelay continued his father's work of expanding the French Navy; between 1660and 1690 the Navy increased under their control from 18 sailing vessels to some 125. While the arsenalstoo were reconstructed, modern studies criticize the Colbert's, father and son, for concentrating onships rather than infrastructure ... The Code Noir (French language: The Black Code) was a decreepassed by France's King Louis XIV in 1685. The Code Noir defined the conditions of slavery in the Frenchcolonial empire, restricted the activities of free Negroes, forbade the exercise of any religion other thanRoman Catholicism, and ordered all Jews out of France's colonies. The code has been described by TylerStovall as "one of the most extensive official documents on race, slavery, and freedom ever drawn up inEurope."65)Brodhead, History of New York, p. 43166)E,B, O'Callaghan, The documentary History of the State of New York. (Vol. 1, Albany, 1850)67)Osgood, The American Colonies 17th Century, p. 36768)Ibid, p. 36869)Stokes, Iconography, v.370)Osgood, The American Colonies in the 17th Century, p. 368Dongan commissioned French refugee Abel Marion La Frontaine and Captain Johannes Rooseboom todifferent missions.Denonville denied he built such forts.Documents Relating to Colonial History, (Volume 1, p.494-5)Osgood, American Colonies in the 17th Century, iii, p. 370-71Osgood, American Colonies in the 17th Century, iii, p. 371For complete text see Documents relating to Colonial History, iii, p. 455-6 for extract see E.T. Corwin,Ecclesiastical Records of the State of New York, (Vol. 2, Albany, 1903) p.920-1For complete text see Documentary History of New York, i, p, 130-1, Documents relating to ColonialHistory, iii, p. 460-1 for extract see E.T. Corwin, Ecclesiastical Records of the State of New York, (Vol. 2,Albany, 1903) p. 920.1See New York Historical Society, Collections 1879, p. 385-6 for accounts of the Indian ConferenceFor complete text see - Documentary History New York, i, p. 128-9 and New York Colonial Documents, iii,p. 455Trelease, Indian Affairs, p. 272As explained previously, Denonville did not want to make the same mistakes as De la Barre.For complete text see Documentary History of New York, i, p, 129-30, Documents relating to ColonialHistory, iii, p. 458-9 for extract see E.T. Corwin, Ecclesiastical Records of the State of New York, (Vol. 2,Albany, 1903) p. 921

For entire text, see Documentary History of New York, i, p. 130-1and New York Colonial Records, iii, p.460-1 for extract see E.T. Corwin, Ecclesiastical Records of the State of New York, (Vol. 2, Albany, 1903) p.921Osgood, American Colonies 17th Century, iii, p. 372For complete text see Documentary History of New York, i, p, 131-2 Documents relating to ColonialHistory, iii, p. 462-3 for extract see E.T. Corwin, Ecclesiastical Records of the State of New York, (Vol. 2,Albany, 1903) p. 923=4.

For complete text see Documentary History of New York, i, p, 139-40 Documents relating to ColonialHistory, iii, p. 462-3 for extract see E.T. Corwin, Ecclesiastical Records of the State of New York, (Vol. 2,Albany, 1903) p. 928=29.

Brodhead, History of New York, ii, p. 440Osgood, American Colonies 17th Century, iii, p. 373-4For complete text see Documentary History of New York, i, p, 139-40 Documents relating to ColonialHistory, iii, p. 462-3 for extract see E.T. Corwin, Ecclesiastical Records of the State of New York, (Vol. 2,Albany, 1903) p. 928-9Osgood, American Colonies 17th Century, iii, p. 373Brodhead, History of New York, ii, p. 440Osgood, American Colonies 17th Century, iii, p. 374New York Colonial Documents, iii, p. 436-7Dongan had asked the Iroquois in the Indian Conferences in 1683, 1684, and 1686 to not entreat with theFrench.New York Colonial Documents, iii, p.438-41Brodhead, History of New York, ii, p. 475Osgood, American Colonies 17th Century, iii, p. 375-6New York Colonial Documents, iii, p.506-510New York Colonial Documents, iii, p.503-506Driscoll, John T. "Thomas Dongan." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 5. New York: Robert AppletonCompany, 1909. 8 Dec. 2009 <http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/05130a.htm>.Driscoll, John T. "Thomas Dongan." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 5. New York: Robert AppletonCompany, 1909. 8 Dec. 2009 <http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/05130a.htm>.Fiske, John, The Dutch and Quaker Colonies in America, Boston and New York: Houghton Mifflin, 1902,pp. 205-206Fiske, John, The Dutch and Quaker Colonies in America, Boston and New York: Houghton Mifflin, 1902,pp. 206-209Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography. "Leisler, Jacob" 1892Elson, Henry William , The History of the United States of America, The MacMillan Company, New York,1904. Chapter VII pp. 138-146. Transcribed by Kathy LeighElson, Henry William , The History of the United States of America, The MacMillan Company, New York,1904. Chapter VIII pp. 162-65. Transcribed by Kathy LeighFirst Colonial Congress, 1690Elson, Henry William , The History of the United States of America, The MacMillan Company, New York,1904. Chapter VII pp. 138-146. Transcribed by Kathy Leigh

Elson, Henry William , The History of the United States of America, The MacMillan Company, New York,1904. Chapter VIII pp. 162-65. Transcribed by Kathy Leigh

Elson, Henry William , The History of the United States of America, The MacMillan Company, New York,1904. Chapter VII pp. 138-146. Transcribed by Kathy LeighCatholic Encyclopedia: Thomas Dongan http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/05130a.htmCatholic Encyclopedia: Thomas Dongan http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/05130a.htm